CHRISTMAS IS FOR HIMIt's hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. I promised myself that this year I would get all the tedious stuff done early so that I could enjoy the Spirit of the Season with my family, perhaps catching a few of the local festivities without having to worry about neighbor gifts, and what the heck to get the in-laws and the grandmas and what kind of Christmas "goodies" I'm going to have to make for people I hardly know, and the wrapping that's not done, and how I never got my trim up around my door or the Christmas lights hung on my house, and then there's my son's first birthday on Christmas Eve to plan for. Well here it is just two short weeks from Christmas and I find myself worrying about all of the above and a few dozen more things. And for what? A recent poll showed that over 60% of us can't even recall what our favorite gift was that we got last year.

I have thought a lot about what President Monson said in the Christmas Devotional. It's a time to remember the greatest gift that we can never forget, the birth of a baby boy, our Savior Jesus Christ...and Christmas is for the children. It's a time to let them experience the magic of it all. As I look at my little boy, our own baby that came to us last Christmas, and see the twinkle in his eye as he experiences some of the magic of it all for the first time, I understand what President Monson was saying. It's his turn...and he doesn't care what fudge recipe I use, or if the ribbon matches the paper, or if the trim is up around the door. He needs his Mommy and his Daddy to help him capture the Spirit and Wonder of the Season. This is his first time hearing the carols and the bells, watching the falling snow, smelling the pine, and seeing the twinkling lights.

How wonderful it would be if as we all aged, when Christmas came, we only experienced the wonder of it all, like we did when we were children. No worrying, no stress over money and needless gifts. No freaking out over Christmas cards and what to wear to parties. What if everyone just shared in the magic of it all and only gave gifts that would improve the life of someone less fortunate than themselves. Perhaps I've been missing out on more than I realized. I have lost the simplicity of it all. There was nothing commercialized about the first Christmas; it was perhaps the most humble of all circumstances. Yet what wonder and magic accompanied the birth of one very special baby boy. What a blessing to have my own little boy to put it all back into perspective. Thanks Max. Christmas is for you.