I'm a big Karen Carpenter fan, but Carrie Underwood also does an outstanding job with Christmas tunes. Johnny Mathis, as well. I know, old school. But I'm not "feeling" the Bad Bunny Yule album.

 

There are some rules for the season in my house. Classic decorations, handwritten cards, generous charitable giving, tasty snacks, and Christmas Eve mass.

 

Done with forethought, Christmas time can be magical, to use a word made popular by Drew Barrymore.

 

But failure to plan is risky.  Crowds and traffic overwhelm, gifts get sold out, invited guests can misbehave.  Think it through.  Avoid chaos.

 

Here is my list. Watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and avoid the dopey song "A Holly Jolly Christmas."  Order a big ham for dinner, backed up with scalloped potatoes and fresh green beans.  Blueberry pie for dessert.  

 

Move all house clutter to the basement, stock up on candles, watch the original "A Christmas Carol" starring Alastair Sim. Read the Christmas stories by Washington Irving to get a true feel for what Christmas in America was like in colonial times.

 

And one more thing.  Give some folks unexpected gifts. An elderly person in the neighborhood, a poor child, someone battling illness. Make a list, check it twice. That's what it's all about.