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It is officially the Christmas season. There is snow on the mountains as well as the valley floor where we live, homes are etched in multi-colored lights, Christmas trees glow from living room windows, and children are trying to be very, very good. People seem to be smiling more, and we do detect a little quiet humming of Christmas Carols as people walk through parking lots and supermarkets.

We don’t believe we are alone as we watch the transformation that seems to take place in the character of those around us. Generosity seems to be the rule of the day—and a good rule at that. Even as families post their wish list to “Santa” on the refrigerator door, many also canvas the stores to purchase items for others much less fortunate. Whether getting a tag from a department store “Giving Tree”, (Boy 12, Size 10, Would Love A Skateboard), a name from the local shelter, (Family of 4, Needs Christmas Dinner and gifts for 2 children, boy and girl, ages 2 and 4) or becoming aware of a neighbor’s need, there can be as much shopping done for strangers as there is for family and friends.

When we were young, we knew that Santa’s Helpers were the Elves that put together toys in a cozy workshop, somewhere in the snowy cold of the North Pole. On Christmas Eve these elves piled a year’s worth of goods, all beautifully wrapped, into Santa’s bag and waved merrily as he and his spirited reindeer flew into a full-mooned and cloudless night. These are magic memories, full of the nostalgia that belongs to children who fell asleep straining to hear reindeer bells, and Santa’s boots walking across their roof top.

This magic needn’t end just because we become the Elves who stay up on Christmas Eve, not to hear “Ho, Ho, Ho”, but to assemble a bike that has too many parts and not enough instruction. Somewhere, there is a family who could use a little “Elf” help in order to keep the magic alive—theirs as well as ours.

No matter how old we become, the child in each of us still believes. What a gift it is to nurture that belief not only in those whom we love, but in people whose names are on tags, and shelters, and neighborhood mail-boxes.

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