The aroma of gingerbread filled the house as Christine lay in bed, waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. Even though she was already excited to spend this joyous holiday with her husband and 6 year old son, what made her ecstatic was the fact that her brother was joining them. She was thrilled to have him there for his first Christmas with them.
Sean’s interest in Christmas had vanished once middle school hit, his joy vanishing with his innocence. Christine was determined to change his mind, but realized it would be harder than expected. He was amazing with Thomas but just didn’t seem to care about the holiday bringing them all together.
Christine tried to get Sean in the holiday spirit all weekend by hanging decorations in the guestroom, putting gifts for him underneath the tree, and even trying to get him to go caroling with the family the day before Christmas Eve. Christmas represented so many fulfilling things and she just wished Sean could experience that with them. Still, little was happening with his Christmas spirit.
Christine had planned to take Thomas to visit Santa at the mall when she was called into work at the last minute. Even though Sean hated the idea of visiting Santa, he couldn’t stand the quivering lip starting on Thomas with the bad news and immediately yelled out “I’ll do it. If you really want to go, Thomas, I’ll take you.” Thomas jumped on his uncle, screaming out with excitement.
As Sean and Thomas stood in line to visit Santa, Sean leaned down to Thomas and asked “So why is it so important to see Santa if you already wrote him a letter?” Thomas thought about it for a second, then said “To tell him that I love him. He makes everyone happy when he brings them toys for being good, and so I want to say thanks for making everyone happy.”It was Thomas’ turn, and so Sean stepped aside to watch the two. As he stood there, he saw how happy believing in Santa made Thomas. Looking around, he saw the excitement children had waiting in anticipation to see Santa as well.
While the worker positioned the camera to snap a shot of Thomas with Santa, Sean asked himself “How can I be so cynical about something that brings so many smiles?” He rushed over to the two, joining just in time for the flash. Thomas had infected his uncle with Christmas spirit and had no idea.
The two walked into the house, singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs. Christine looked up, confused, and asked “What’s going on?” Sean smiled and said, “I think I’m ready to make some Christmas cookies now.” Sean finally saw what Christmas really is about; it’s not the presents, the music, or the sweets, but about the celebration of family and life. A pan hit the ground as Christine got ready to make Christmas with her brother and son for the first time.