Nobody In — Nobody Out

I love Christmas. Unabashedly. Emotionally. A little insanely.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

And I always have.

So today, as I confidently prepared to write eloquently about my lifelong love of Christmas, I was surprised to find myself stumped.

WHY do I love Christmas so much? WHY have I always loved Christmas so much?

So I thought long and hard:

• It wasn’t the gifts (always thoughtful and appreciated, but the Christmas of my childhood was never about things)
• It wasn’t the pomp (Christmas decorations and meals were not a Martha Stewart-worthy affair in our house)
• It wasn’t the trip to Grandma’s house for the big family gathering (it was always just the 6 of us, in our own home, without fail).

And this last recollection made me smile. I had found it. The reason why I love Christmas so much.

Nobody In — Nobody Out. It was my Mother’s mantra. On Christmas Day in our house, nobody was allowed in, and nobody was allowed out. It was just us. All day. Every year. It was our tradition, along with the Christmas pajamas we always opened on Christmas Eve and the blueberry muffins and champagne that were always a part of our Christmas mornings. It was the tradition of togetherness. Exclusive togetherness.

And this is what Christmas is for me. The comfort and joy of these traditions wrap me up and stay with me, year after year.

So this Christmas and every Christmas, you can bet that my family will be opening our Christmas pajamas, and sipping champagne and nibbling blueberry muffins while we open our presents. And being together. Exclusively.

Nobody In — Nobody Out.