Christmas thoughts

I am so glad that Christmas is in the air and I'll be sad when it's over. The other day I was chatting with a gal at the store (yes, you know me, I always talk to people I don't know) and she was talking about the Holidays. She said "you know, there is so much to do this time of year, presents to buy, food to bake, etc, etc, so much build-up, so much hype and then you get to the big day and it's such a let-down" I was so sad to hear her comments. I think I just sat there stunned at first, but after I left her, it gave me something to really ponder.
How do we get to that place where we completely forget the entire purpose of celebrating the birth of the Savior? when she said it was a let-down I thought "really, the fact that the Christ came to earth was a let-down?" Who cares about presents, although they are fun to give and receive, and who cares about baking, although it's tasty, and who cares about the lights and the shopping and, and, and... if we forget the very purpose for which we do all these "things" then what's the point? So I just hope that if anything, listening to her comments made me really think about the gift this time of year gives us, the gift of time to think about what we have, because of what he gave us. The gift to look on others who are less fortunate with compassion as he would, the gift to help and serve those all around us, the gift to express our love more freely, the gift to slow down and listen to beautiful music that fills our hearts with joy and memories of our own childhood, the gift of thinking about what our lives would be like without Christ and being grateful for what they are and can be because of him.
I am so grateful for the gal in the grocery store, because she really got me thinking about how I can better enjoy this time of year for what it really is, and pass that on to my children.