For me, no truer words were ever said โitโs the most wonderful time of the yearโ; that is how I feel about Christmas. It isnโt just Christmas Eve, or Christmas dayโฆ itโs the spirit of Christmas, the very soul of the entire year.
My best memories of Christmas as a little girl were when I went to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacularโฆ and sitting on Santaโs lap; of course, growing up in New York City I had the pleasure of seeing Santa at Macyโs and at the Daily News Building. In fact, when my first daughter could walk I took her to those same locations even though we were living outside the New York City area. But growing up in an apartment did not allow us to have a large tree or leave room for elaborate decorating; we had a fresh-cut 4ft pine tree in the center of the kitchen/dining tableโฆ but for me, it was huge. We could walk to church for midnight mass, and I was mesmerized every minute as I adored the lights that streamed down 3rd Avenue and across 42nd Street. I remember my โChatty-Cathyโ doll sitting under that tree next to my brotherโs โRock ‘Em Sock ‘Em ROBOTSโโฆ they seemed enormous compared to the mini-tree. Throughout the years, I have taken all that I love and multiplied it over and over for each of my children and then my grandchildrenโฆ I want them to love Christmas just as much and hold on to these memories and valuable traditions.