I guess I’ve never let the magic of Christmastime wear off since I was a kid.

I’m kind of odd about what I like at Christmas. I’m not a fan of non- stop Christmas carols on the radio from Thanksgiving until Dec. 26.
But I will stop and listen to Silent Night, Holy Night every time I hear it played.

I like fruitcake. I also love eggnog. I was bummed out earlier in the week when I stopped at Mickey 
D’s and found out they didn’t have eggnog milkshakes.

And I love mincemeat pie.

My mother was the only other one in the family who liked mincemeat so she and I got to share a pie every Christmas.
While I was asking people about their Christmas plans Mike Mason told me he had spent 8 Christmas’s overseas.

Not that it’s a competition, but I spent 9 overseas. The one Christmas I remember well was the Christmas of 1984.

I was in the second year of my tour in Germany, my unit was locked in because we were the 3rd Division Quick Reaction Force. This meant we were subject to an hour recall and weren’t supposed to be going to clubs or anywhere else.

When they brought the mail, we all gathered at the charge of quarters desk to receive it. A couple days before Christmas I got a care package from home.

Because we were all standing right there, my platoon sergeant said they needed to have me open my package to make sure I wasn’t getting any contraband.

He wasn’t fooling me, they were looking for cookies and treats.

Unbeknownst to me, my mother had found a recipe for mincemeat cookies. So I opened the package and sure enough, there were two lard cans full of contraband (cookies.) I opened one up and offered the first one to my platoon sergeant.
He took a bite then spit it out.

“What kind of cookies are these?”

I took one and bit into it.

“Mincemeat.”

No one else wanted any mincemeat cookies so I packed up my loot and went to my room. As I went through the rest of the package I happened to open the other lard tin, and to my surprise, it was full of chocolate chip cookies my grandma had made.

It cost me half of the tin to keep my roommate, Smuckatelly, quiet but I figured I came out ahead.

I’ve told that story to my wife, Anna, several times over the years.  She told her mother, Albirta Poole, about it. What happened because of it is my wonderful mother-in-law started making a mincemeat pie for Christmas. No one else in the family likes it so guess who it’s for, that’s right, me.

It adds to the magic of Christmas for me. Every bite of it I remember my mom and how she always made a pie special for me every Christmas.

Another special memory from that Christmas was I was voluntold that I would be Santa Claus at the company party.

“You will be Santa, and you will be jolly,” were my orders.

I had to borrow the suit from the Education Center. When I went to borrow it there was a scheduling conflict the Ed center’s party was at 1 p.m., ours was at 3 p.m. So I volunteered to play Santa for them too.

In January I was called to the front of the formation. Usually that means you’re getting promoted or an award.

My platoon sergeant could hardly keep from laughing as he read a letter of commendation from the Education Center NCOIC for playing Santa at their party and showing the true spirit of Christmas. I still have that letter.

This year COVID-19 is acting like the Grinch trying to steal the magic of Christmas. Kids aren’t getting the opportunity to sit on St. Nick’s lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. At this time of year it’s especially easy during a pandemic not to have much Christmas Spirit.

No matter how you’re choosing to celebrate, whether it’s staying at home and battening down the hatches or gathering together with your family, you make your own Christmas magic.

Merry Christmas Everybody!