‘Tis the season for gift giving.  People will spend beyond their budget.  Push, pull, and maim to get the Black Friday specials and then get those cards out again to buy for Cyber Monday.

I will tell you that later on in life when you are pulling to see how strong you tied the knots of family bonding, these gifts won’t count at all.  It is the traditions, the memories, and the fun you had that remains in the heart.

As I approach 60-some years old and look back—my fondest holiday memories have no gifts involved.  I think of Holy Supper with my Baba’s homemade pierogi on Christmas Eve.  I think about playing colored eggs in my other grandma’s basement with my 20 cousins!  I think of hopping on a bus to go shopping with my cousins and always “meeting under Kaufmann’s clock.”

I remember driving myself insane trying to find a “gas and go” for my son.  My cousin June found one in Pittsburgh.  But, I am willing to bet my son holds other traditions more dear.

Please spend the holiday season baking cookies, taking treats to shut-ins, reading stories and playing games (I love playing Wet Head with my grandkids) and riding around to see the lights.  Sing songs.  And most of all, slow down from the hustle and the bustle.  Whatever winter holiday you celebrate, I can assure you the basis of it is not in shopping for the “toy of the year.”

We wish you a wonderful holiday season with your family.  And remember the memories are in your presence not in presents.