There is a magic to Christmas that can’t be denied. There is a sweet warmth, a kindred-spiritedness, a joy in the darkness. There is silliness and soberness. There is fairy tale, myth, and the celebration of the greatest event in human history. There is eucatastrophe, tradition, and festivity! There is a magic to Christmas, deep and old, bright and beautiful!

Do you ever wish you could bottle up that perfect Christmas feeling, can it, and store it on your pantry shelf?

Christmas isn’t about the stuff. (Repeat this with me every day! Christmas isn’t about the stuff!) Christmas is about the gift of being home together as a family, whether that is a blood family, a found family, your church, or your community. Christmas is a broad holiday. It shelters war stories, ghost stories, trees, troubles, and magic. It shelters good Christian men rejoicing! Don’t make it about the stuff.

We’re the tenders, the warmers, the magic makers, taking our husband’s hard-earned income and turning it into scrumptious pies, painted cookies, hot punch, roast beast, garlands of greenery, strings of bright lights, stuffed stockings, and trees inside. (I love having a tree inside!) This is everyday, ordinary, deep, hobbit magic. And we are the practitioners of this art.