I was babysitting at my church last weekend, and got dragged into the "Is there a Santa?" debate that 6-10 year olds tend to create every year. I fell firmly on the side of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

I love Christmas and all the joy and excitement that I see in people in the time surrounding it. I love to see people's faces light up when my choral group goes Christmas caroling. It gives me a thrill to find "the perfect gift", a present that means something and will really excite its recipient. I love to make fudge and gingersnaps and give them to my friends and family. I love to serve on the altar for my church's Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Christmas for me is a time of love and joy, a time of contemplation of all the wonderful blessings I have. It is a time to simply enjoy life, without the worries that plague me every day. Rather than doing so much that holiday preparations become a bother, I do just what I can. With that, I'm off to make my first batch of Christmas fudge.