The Final Hours of Christmas

I hope it was a wonderful Christmas for all of you. I think this may have been my best yet.

My Christmas day started about four hours after we landed back at the North Pole. Mrs Claus and I had to wrap up the Operations before we headed home for our traditional Christmas brunch. For some reason, having a nice, leisurely-paced breakfast with Mrs. Claus after the long night and even longer Christmas Eve preparations seems like a luxury. I really start to relax. As I always do, I took a quick nap after breakfast. But not too long... my senior staff came over for a Christmas Day celebration. Its an intimate little gathering... just 20 or so of us (including guests), good food & drink, and a Holiday-season's worth of stories to tell on each other. We all enjoy each other so much more when the pressure is off and we can just relax.

After everyone left, I fell asleep on the recliner as I do each year, next to a roaring fire, surfing the movie channels (Did I mention, we are getting free movie channels as a promotion from our cable provider?). Mrs. Claus woke me up in the early evening hours so I wouldn't sleep the night away. We went for a walk, hand-in-hand, around the Village to enjoy the lights and the lightly falling snow. When we got back from our walk, Mrs. Claus made hot chocolate while I brought in more wood for the fireplace. Once we got settled, with the fire once again roaring and the hot chocolate in our mugs, we exchanged gifts. Last year I was spot on with the gifts for Mrs. Claus after about 10 years in a row of getting it wrong. But this year, I was right back to my old ways... everything I got was either the wrong size, wrong color, or wrong style. Ugh! Yes, even I have problem giving gifts to my spouse! So don't feel bad if you find yourself in the returns line tomorrow morning. The good news is that Mrs. Claus was very understanding and we had a very Merry Christmas anyway. After all, the gifts are just a symbol.

Well, Mrs. Claus has retired for the evening. I'm pretty tired but I wanted to check in with you before I take a 10 or 12 hour "nap" for the first time in a few months and wish you a very Merry Christmas before the day is over. I hope you have some time this week between Christmas and New Years Day to relax and re-energize for the new year ahead. If you do, take the time to focus on your blessings. If you find you are truly blessed... as I believe you will... make a point to share those blessings with someone else during these last days of the Holiday season.

Merry Christmas, everyone! With Love, Santa