“The way you spend 
Christmas is far more 
important than how 
much you spend.” 
Henry David Thoreau

So here we are,… Christmas Eve 2025. Again this year, we’ll be gathering with Kathy’s family at the home of her youngest sister, Chrissy, and her husband, Brian. They have a beautiful South San José home which can accommodate a large and ever-growing family for a holiday celebration. It also happens to be Chrissy’s birthday. Let the party begin!

Thoreau’s quote above should be a guide for us, not only for Christmas, but throughout the year. Who we spend our time with is far more important than how much we spend on any item or experience we could purchase. 

Peanuts creator, Charles M. Schulz, echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters, it’s who’s around it.”

As the years have passed, it seems that the holiday season has gotten increasingly hectic. We can easily find ourselves overwhelmed with things to do, places to go, people to see, gifts to purchase, food to prepare, and so much more. The best explanation I’ve heard for all this chaos was offered by English writer Harland Miller. He said, “Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time, with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts, is that we don’t quite know how to put our love into words.” Chew on that one for a while.

Christmas really is all about love — God’s love for us and our love for each other. Keeping this in mind might empower us to keep it simple this Christmas season.