THE best way? Is it all the food and goodies? Is it all the music and lights? Is it the cozy weather and hot cocoa? Although these are all fabulous in my book, I submit no. I think there is a far better solution.

I base this off the memory of a child. So, that might mean it's just a simple fantasy. Or, maybe it can be taken as something sweeter, because children seem to have that sweet innocence that bears truth.

One Thanksgiving Eve, I lay in bed, too excited to sleep. Even though it was just Thanksgiving, there was so much to look forward to: cousins to play pretend with, food galore (not only would there be seconds, but thirds, and fourths!), and once Thanksgiving was over, Christmas was that much closer. That's how it was when we were kids, we lost sleep over our unbounding excitement, not our unending stress.

So, in order to try and let out some of my excitement, I crept downstairs to see what my mom was up to, crossing my fingers that I wouldn't get sent back to bed. I found her, caught red-handed, being the amazing mom that she is, making a breaded cornucopia. Sounds crazy, right? It was amazing though. Golden brown, huge; I was in awe. After the shock wore off, we started talking about how I couldn't sleep. And, again, being the amazing mom that she is, she invited me to stay up with her and help.

To be totally honest, I can't remember what I helped with, probably some pies and possibly the cornucopia. Being 9, I'm sure there wasn't much I could actually do. But, I think we all know my mom was letting me stay up for reasons more important. She knew it would be quality time spent together, doing a good thing together. The fact that my mom trusted me and loved me enough to realize this memory and the time with her would be far better for me than sending me back to my bed where I belonged, meant a lot to me. We kept up this tradition for years...and years. I would stay up late to help her make her delicious pies, and we would talk. One-on-one time is so important when you're a child, teenager, and even a parent.

So, what is the best way to celebrate the holidays? No matter what holiday you celebrate or when, I truly think one of the best ways is to celebrate with your loved ones. Give them your time. They'll forget about the food (okay, I remember the breaded cornucopia, but it was pretty amazing), they'll forget about the gifts, but won't they won't forget is the time spent with you.

Make sure you take time for them these holidays. Quality time. They will love you for it. They will remember your love, and that's what counts.