Was it just me, or did anyone else struggle to get into the Christmas spirit this year? More than one person I spoke with relayed the same feeling and most of them blamed it on the lack of cold weather and snow. It’s amazing how profound an impact the “wrong” weather can have on our moods.

I’m going to sound like a total Grinch, but I was invited to go see Christmas lights and instead of going along with it, I made up an excuse to take a rain check (one that I’ll never cash).

Christmas lights just don’t do anything for me. It’s nothing personal. It’s the same way I feel about watching fireworks — I guess I’d rather set them off myself instead of watching others do it. Call me weird, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Here’s how much I wasn’t in the holiday spirit — I volunteered to work throughout the Christmas holiday. That way I didn’t have to spend my day acting like I was excited and thinking Christmas thoughts. It gave me something to focus on and accomplish.

Thankfully, I carved out enough time in my day to visit a family member’s house to exchange gifts and meet up for the holiday. It’s the first Christmas we’ve had without my grandmother, who passed away earlier this year.

God bless you, Grandma — we sure do miss you. It just wasn’t the same without you.

The point is that I’m glad I sucked it up and put away my selfish tendencies to spend time with my family. I love them to death, even though I probably don’t show it nearly as much as I should.

We had a wonderful time sharing stories, laughing and just being together — not to mention the bonus of chowing down on a five-course meal prepared by my extremely talented cousin, who can whip up a mean beef tenderloin.

Forget the stress of finding gifts and the whole commercial aspect of the entire month of December — nothing compares to the feeling of spending time with the people you love. It’s truly priceless.

Life gets busy and it’s so easy to put aside the important things that truly matter in our lives. I do it entirely too often and although I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions, I’m going to make it my mission in 2016 to set aside enough time to do the things that matter most — like communicating with my loved ones more often.

Lastly, I’d like to wish all of our readers a wonderfully happy and exciting 2016. May you be blessed with everything you deserve in life!