What Makes Your Christmas Merry?

The countdown has begun. Christmas is almost here. What makes your Christmas merry? As a teen I would have wanted a new purse or sweater. My mother would have taken me shopping to pick it out. Then she would have insisted on wrapping it and putting it under the tree. Even though I knew exactly what was in the package, I still couldn't wait to open it Christmas morning.

As an adult my Christmas rotates around decorating the tree, baking cookies, eating cookies, baking more cookies, and then complaining that my pants are too tight because of all the cookies I've eaten. It's a vicious yet delicious cycle. Every year, I promise myself that I will not go hog wild eating cookies. And every year I hoover dozens of cookies down to the last crumb. What can I say? I'm a slow learner.

What makes your Christmas merry?