The Christmas Spirit.

The Christmas feeling started at Thanksgiving when we attended a rehearsal of the Nutcrackers on Ice where my grandchildren were performing. A week later the other pair of grandchildren invited us to their school’s Christmas concert, an elaborate and so professional Christmas pageant that took place in a public theater with two thousand people attending.

Decorating my apartment with a two-foot tree, a winking Santa Claus and two nativities put me in a festive mood. By then it really began to feel like Christmas without the commercialization that annoyed me in the previous years. I started cooking and baking, and carefully avoided the stores. A Christmas party at our church, another organized by my FRW chapter, and a breakfast with Santa for the children continued for us the holiday celebration.

The Sweet Romance Reads Christmas Bash we held on Facebook allowed me to connect with hundreds of readers who shared news about their Christmas preparations and celebrations, and posted pictures of the decorations in their houses. It felt like a huge cyber web party where we met friends and shared stories.

So what about presents? Usually, we offer gifts to the children only. This year we order for the boy a big Lego, and for the girls a Kindle.

My children, grandchildren and close relatives are invited to my place on Christmas Eve for dinner and in the morning we will be going to church. After that they are free to play games, eat left over, or go out while we babysit. The noise and mess attest to the children’s fun and happiness.

Do you feel the Christmas spirit?