When I found out I was pregnant with my second child, the first thing I did after jumping up and down (we had been trying for a year), was to dig out a due date calculator.  Last period March 21.  Due date… December 25?  Oh no!

When it’s time to take out the Christmas decorations, our kids love digging out our dreidel collection to play with.  Dreidels and Christmas?  In our multi-cultural household, it is perfectly natural and normal.

When I tell people that my favorite season is winter, they think I’m crazy.  Most people think of short days, cold weather, hectic holiday shopping, and endless snow.  Of course I also mind these inconveniences, but I still relish the coming season.

If there’s one thing that keeps my sanity in the holiday season, it is the gift list.  This is not your ordinary throw-away list like a weekly grocery shopping list.  It has become an invaluable resource throughout the year, as well as a record of giving through years past.

Trick-or-treat!  These words bring back images from my childhood as well as new traditions with my own family.  The custom can bring out the best from children, the worst from teens, and is loved and hated by adults.  Still, Halloween marks the start of the autumn and winter holiday season, commercialism and all.