I am such a little kid at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think it's because I came from a loving family, and celebrating these holidays was important. My parents didn't have a lot of money, but there were still toys at Christmas and a lot of food Thanksgiving day.
I love Christmas specials on TV, and one of them is the first Peanuts special, especially the ending when Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown. I love a lot of the older specials, cartoons which I loved as a kid, and of course, "A Christmas Carol" by Dickens. I love putting up the tree and decorating it, and when my wife and I do this, we have our Christmas CDs playing. I have about 30 of them, from Windom Hill "Winter Solstice" cds, to Narada Christmas, John Rutter, Vienna Boys Choir, King's College Cambridge boys choir and the list goes on and on.
The best part is getting the whole family together, something which seems to get more difficult as they get older and busier. We try to have everyone at our house and have a big dinner. We open presents and tell stories both past and present. Then we kill the fatted goose right in the family room, spilling its guts and blood....Oops.....maybe we don't go quite that far, but there is a fire in the wood stove and plenty of beer, egg nog and Makers Mark, my favorite.
Too soon the day passes and I have to wait yet another year, hoping that we'll all be together for another year, alive and just as healthy.
So Merry Christmas to all of you, and may your dreams come true.