If you know me, you know that I come from a long line of Christmas lovers. My mom puts her tree up the day after Thanksgiving and it stays up through January (sometimes even longer). The day after Christmas we start a countdown till Christmas of the following year and you can frequently hear Christmas music being played in my family's house no matter what time of year it is. Needless to say, I like Christmas – it’s how I was raised.

Because of my upbringing and the people I surround myself with around Christmastime, I simply assumed that everyone must feel the same way I do about Christmas. A few weeks ago I was speaking to a friend. We were talking about the upcoming holidays and I was expressing how excited I was to decorate the tree and don my plaid pajamas.I was in shock when she told me that she wasn’t really looking forward to Christmas. I literally think my mouth dropped to the floor. She expressed to me that she just really didn’t have any “cheer” and that at her age she didn’t really see the point in getting all excited about the season. I felt like I was speaking to a real life Grinch. The things that she said really stayed with me and I thought about them as I drove home that night.

How could someone hate this time of year and all that’s associated with it? Then I began to list things: commercialism, traffic, stores filled with hasty shoppers trying to check items off of their Christmas lists. While all of these things may not be my favorite parts of the season, they seem small in comparison to all the joy that I experience this time of year. Then another thing hit me: I was brought up in a home where Christmas was a magical time and where we made the most of every moment of the season. My family has our special holiday traditions, we cook amazing food and we bask in the true reason for the season. But while I have all of these amazing Christmas traditions and memories, not everyone else out there had the same Christmas experiences that I had growing up. Not everyone finds joy in red Starbucks cups and Christmas carols.

But the more I thought about it, the more it made me wonder why I truly love this time of year. Sure, I wait all year for Vlogmas and for Christmas scented candles, but there is so much more that I love about this time of year than merely the materialism of it all. I love the opportunity to give to people I love; to see someone's face light up when they open a gift that I have spent quality time picking out for them. I love this time of year because it gives me the opportunity to talk to people about God- to share just a little bit of gospel and to bless people with the gift of charity. I love this time of year because, while others may not have had the wonderful Christmases that I had as a kid, it gives me the opportunity to try and recreate that magic for others.

So this year, ask yourself: What is your motivation behind your love for the holidays? Are you using your joy this time of year in order to bless and give to others?