Well, Christmas is over, the presents unwrapped, and the torn wrapping paper (mostly) cleaned up. It was a lovely Christmas altogether, especially the surprise bag of presents my family and I found by our door on Christmas Eve after we'd been out. It was very heartwarming to find it there, and we're very grateful, though we're not sure who to be grateful to. So perhaps we should just make an extra effort to be nice to everyone, since anyone could have done it.

A neighbor introduced me to a new tradition that I would like to try out with my family in Christmases to come. It's called The White Stocking. And here's how it goes:

THE WHITE STOCKING

It wasn't that anyone had really been forgotten,
no child had been slighted or made unhappy
and no adult had been left unremembered.
The presents had all been distributed and
all the stockings were beautifully filled--all
that is except one; one stocking that had never
even been hung. It was the stocking intended for the
Child of Bethlehem.

Of all the people belonging at that Christmas
gathering, only He had been forgotten.
Only he had been left out of the festivities.
This didn't seem quite right, inasmuch as it
was His birthday that was being celebrated.
Since then, the little white stocking has been hung
in a special place in our home. On Christmas Eve
after our special dinner, we gather in the living room
and have a program. During this time we reach
into the stocking and pass out the papers
that were placed in the stocking the year before.
Each person then writes a new gift for
Jesus to be placed in the stocking.
Your gift could include: personal goals, ways you will
be of service to others in the coming year, or
relationships you wish to improve.
Wishing You A Special Holiday Season.