The Christmas season is a truly special time of the year for my family, and every year the feeling never seems to change; it is always truly magical and heartwarming, and they always take me back to when I was a kid. The season of giving also comes with the family traditions, and my family loves some good old traditions.

The traditions all start on Christmas Eve. First my family and I get all dressed up in our nice “winter” clothes, but these outfits are a little strange when it’s 80 degrees outside.

After we get dressed up in our traditional Christmas outfits, we make our way to church to enjoy the Christmas Eve service. Then we listen to our pastor, Dr. Ed Young, give his lecture for the evening. When Pastor Ed comes on stage I get a special feeling every year; a feeling I think will stay with me forever.

Then we make our way to a restaurant called The Taste of Texas to eat. On Christmas Eve it is about a three hour wait, so they have a little waiting room with popcorn, drinks and other snacks to munch on while we wait for our table to be set. Then when we finally get our food, it is spectacular and it seems to get even better every single year.

After we have dinner we drive home, and when we get home we all go get into our pajamas and go downstairs to watch ABC’s 25 days for Christmas until we feel like we are ready to sleep. The next morning, the joyous spirit of Christmas begins.

Usually on Christmas my sisters are super excited to open presents, so around 8:30 a.m. my sisters come banging on my door telling me to “Wake up, Caleb!” After we open presents we all sit down and discuss how we can make next year better for us individually, and for the family and that is an amazing experience every year.