“It’s the most wonderful time of the year……..!!”  If I could figure out how to type musical notes I would!  I really love this time of year.  In fact, for years, I’ve made sure that I have at least a week of use or lose leave at the end of the year so I could enjoy the holiday with friends and family and not feel guilty about not being at work.  Most of all, I enjoy finding and giving the perfect gift.  One of my favorite gifts was the year I gave my, then, 12 year old nephew Ben a rifle.  It was just a little .22 but it was the perfect gift for a kid who lives on a farm.  He almost wet himself and the look on my sisters’ face was priceless. (I did clear it with her husband Brian!)  I love giving gifts but the flip side is that I’m told I’m impossible to buy for.

It’s not that there aren’t things that I want, it’s that the things I want are always things I actually need throughout the year.  I like useful things like tools and when you need a tool you just can’t wait for Christmas to get it.  So I’m accused of always buying stuff for myself that other people could buy for me and making their lives difficult.  The key has always been to find me something I don’t know I want.  Let me give you an example.

In 1991 Hallmark came out with the first in, what has become, a long line of uniquely themed Christmas ornaments.  It was the Starship Enterprise from the Star Trek series.  And since they weren’t sure how strong the market was, they only produced a very limited number of them.  My little sister Jody, who at the time was 16, decided I would love to have one so she somehow managed to corral one for me for Christmas and I think it was my best Christmas gift ever.  Yes, I secretly am a sci-fi geek although I don’t hold a candle to Rebecca Oroukin!  Well, Peg concluded that she had cracked the “Buying Daryl a gift” code so, every year since 1991, she has bought me the yearly Hallmark Star Trek ornament.  Not the little figures of the characters, just the ships.  23 ships hanging from the special tree in the corner of the living room.  They light up.  Some of them speak with quotes from all 4 series and movies in the actors voices.  Some use those little watch batteries and some plug into those tree lights you can’t buy anymore.  A glistening tribute to….?……!……?  Festive Startrekiness?  And there’s where I’m conflicted.  What the crap does Star Trek have to do with Christmas?

I’m pretty good at stretching object lessons and finding a deeper meaning in just about any situation, but I just can’t come up with what the heck Star Trek has to do with Christmas.  Maybe it’s the hopefulness for the future of mankind through technology.  No, that’s just stupid.  Our hopefulness has nothing to do with technology.  Or could it be our attempt to perfect society and create a utopia on earth.  That’s diametrically opposed to everything I believe in and beyond stupid.  It’s socialist drivel!  So I’ve reached the conclusion that it’s, well, just fun.  When you really look at the way we celebrate Christmas, most of it has absolutely nothing to do with “Christ”mas.  So, here’s my challenge.  Make sure you take time this holiday season to look beyond the glitz and sparkle.  Celebrate the birth of the savior.  Sing and laugh and celebrate and reflect on what he means to you and look forward to the real gift we remember four months from now.

“Live long and prosper!”