Happy Holidays!

The greatest time of the year is upon us again, and one of my favorite pastimes is back in season: holiday themed movies.

Although they all follow the same basic plot, nothing is better than sitting around the television and watching another family have their holiday wishes come true. Nothing was better than watching the protagonists fall in love, and dreaming about Christmas miracles. Watching these movies makes me think back to one of the biggest "Christmas miracles" I've ever had, and also part of the reason I can't completely get rid of the idea of Santa.

Growing up, my family never had much money, yet my parents always made sure we had something to unwrap at the end of the year. However, when I was seven or eight, I remember my parents mentioning that Santa might not make it to our house that year. Being so young, I didn't really understand what that meant.

Why didn't he want to visit us?

It was looking to be the first Christmas spent without any presents, an idea that, to a greedy child like me, meant the end of the world.

However, before all hope was lost, we received our very own Christmas Miracle.

I remember this day so clearly. We were all seated in the living room of the house where we lived at the time when all of a sudden we heard the rumbling of a car on our driveway. Being the hyperactive children we were, my sisters and I raced to the door, eager to see who the mysterious guest was. We crowded around the window panels next to the door, and what we saw next made us gasp in wonder.

Out of a relatively expensive car stepped a man who fit all the descriptions of our old friend, St. Nicholas. Although he was dressed in modern day wear, his rosy cheeks and long whote beard made him unforgettable. It was if Santa had personally visited us at our door step. My father went out to speak to him, and when he returned he said the man was simply trying to turn around, but he wanted to apologize for all the noise he made.

As the man pulled out of our driveway and sped off, we noticed a red sack left in his place. After thoroughly inspecting it, we realized it was full of gifts! To this day, my parents claim they have no idea who this man was, or why he dropped off presents at our house. All I know, is that I will always be grateful to whoever he was for letting me have my very own Christmas miracle.