If I could have a magical Christmas gift, I'd wish for one more Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house – as a child. The hustle and bustle of Christmas, the chaos and stress of the holidays…they meant nothing to an eight-year-old boy. And though my grandparents might have experienced a little “stress” with over fifty people in their home, the kids had a blast. We even sang Christmas carols without too much coaxing by my uncle, who always filmed the gatherings with an old super 8mm silent camera. (I’d gladly exchange several of my adult Christmas gifts for a copy of some of those movies.) And then, to top off the evening…Santa stopped by!

The holidays are still special, but something was permanently lost the moment I looked at the photos of Christmas past – and instead of seeing dear old Santa making a personal delivery before the kids went to bed, I recognized an older cousin wearing a costume that stayed tucked away in my grandfather’s closet except for one night a year.