Christmas is such a magical time for kids. Even though she’s 26 years old now, my daughter Jessica still loves Christmas and all the special memories it brings.

While it’s been a few years since she asked Santa for presents, she still loves so many of our family’s traditions, from opening stockings to eggnog around the tree.

One of our family traditions is to watch National Lampoons “Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo. It’s a great story with lots of great characters including Cousin Eddy and his family. Many families have a ‘Cousin Eddy’ which makes it all the more fun.

When Jess was smaller we tried to get her to visit Santa every Christmas and like all children she often wasn’t sure how to take this larger than life character. As long as her gift request was received she seemed pretty happy with the excursions.

We are blessed to have a healthy family that can gather each year to celebrate our traditions, and to be thankful for all the good things we have.

After Christmas, there is a bit of reprieve before New Year’s Eve when we get to look back at the previous year and hope that the new year is filled with lots of hope and promise.

I dug up some of Jessica’s Santa photos!

Jess with Santa 4

Jess with Santa 3

Jess with Santa 5

Here she is posing in front of the tree.

Jess in front of Christmas Tree

Here’s Jessica enjoying time with Janet on the hearth.

Jess with Janet at Christmas