I find it amusing that you underlined Christ in Christmas but really wanted to talk about getting presents.

For me this season is about a glimmer of excitement that the days are getting longer again (even though I can't tell yet) and an opportunity to be all festive with the family. Last night after a great dinner we pulled taffy GOOD GRIEF WHAT A MESS. I have no idea if the taffy was ever "right" or finished. I also had a lot of time over the last two days to meditate about the relative goodness of having a white christmas, because boy, we had one. Whoever thought up the idea that a white christmas was a wonderful glorious idea lived in a time when relatives didn't pile into cars or stack up in airports for the pleasure of seeing each other. And we truly had a wonderful glorious beautiful white christmas complete with all the added tension, stress, and aggravations a metropolitan area covered in snow can produce..