Where is Christmas?

I was going to leave this as a note on my uncle's blog, but decided to share it a little broader:

I find the celebration of shopping and "finding the perfect gifts" and going crazy over decorating or any other item that can distract from the Christ at this time, just plain hard to handle.
Where do I find Christmas, not in the stores, but in the inner heart.

Christmas is the patience to read one more book to the child before betime, Chritmas is letting the other car pull ahead of you. Christmas is taking time to sing, to pray and to be together. Christmas is graditude in your heart for all the amazing things created in the world. For me Christmas lasts all year round.

but at least in January I can think about going back into a store again.