The Magic of a Merry Christmas

We used to watch for him.

As children, we'd look out our windows up into the northern sky on Christmas Eve and seek out Santa Claus and his sleigh.

Back in those days, the 1970s, there were no Santa trackers on the Internet. (There was also no Internet and smart phones or much technology.)

We did things the old-fashioned way back then, putting out a plate of cookies and milk for Saint Nick, listening to old records as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis and the Carpenters filled our hearts and minds with holiday cheer.

Hopefully, by that point of the season, we may have already sat on Santa's lap and offered our wish list or received a letter from him from the North Pole.

Going to parties on Christmas Eve held by family and friends was also a special treat.

I will never forget ones in northern New Jersey where we would join the family of one my school chums for all kinds of fun as the adults sat around the kitchen table.

As time passed, some traditions changed.

Now my family tries to go into New York City every Christmas Eve to see the tree all lit up around Rockefeller Center and to check out all of the lights along Fifth Avenue.

Christmas, though, is still spent with extended family.

And while the excitement of Santa Claus has now passed, it's still fun to watch children get excited for what Saint Nick left under the tree.

These days, Christmas gifts are more need than want, but back in the day, there were always some special presents you hoped for and hopefully received.

One of the all-time best had to be when my sister and I got an Atari for Christmas. It was one of the first video gaming systems and came with a game called "Combat."

But we -- or at least I -- had to have "Space Invaders," a game that was all the craze back then.

These days, some socks and sweaters might be nice.

Christmas Eve and Christmas, hopefully for most us, will be a time of rest and comfort and warmth and spending time with family and friends.

And maybe, just maybe, I might look up into the sky Monday night and wonder if I can spy Santa and his sled.