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SCOTT DEPOT, WV (ANS) -- Recalling Christmases is like a magical trip down memory lane. This is a special time of the year for me and one I enjoy immensely. It was always difficult to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. One night my sister, Marie, and I were up by midnight playing with our new toys. She had a new doll. I had an electric train and I would enjoy another one now. Other Christmas times were hard -- not much money. My two gifts combined cost $1.04 - 79 cents for black western style tin gun that "ticked" when I pulled the trigger and a small yellow handle one-blade pocketknife. I, also, received a few nuts and hard candy in a stocking, with an orange and apple.

A very sad Christmas was 1938, a Sunday morning, when Mom and Marie returned home early from Sunday School. I may have been ill and stayed home with Dad. Mom was weeping openly. She had just received word that Uncle Buck, my Dad's only brother and remaining sibling, had died suddenly. It was a devastating for my four cousins whom I loved dearly.

There was the national uncertainty at Christmas in 1941, just 18 days after Pearl Harbor was bombed and we were at war with both Japan and Germany. It was a time of national suffering and heartbreak. President Roosevelt said, "I hate war." I totally agree.

So many times at Christmas, we are without loved ones and at the same time we welcome new family members. Christmas changed dramatically for Kitty and me when Elizabeth and Mark were born and again when grandchildren arrived.

Things are always changing. In childhood, it was Christmas with Mom and Dad, Marie, "Whitey" and grandparents and cousins. Later, with children and now our grandchildren.

As a child, I was told that Santa Claus liked the delicious coconut cakes my Mom baked in a coal-burning stove. He also liked hot coffee. Mom placed both on the kitchen table Christmas Eve. I could always tell when Santa had arrived. A big slice of cake was missing with an empty plate and used coffee cup. It finally dawned on me that it was my Dad's favorite cake and drink also. He was just like Santa Claus.

As I was growing up there was not a lot of money. My Dad, being a skilled carpenter and woodworker made sure I received several graduated toolboxes and an electric train when I was a young boy. Marie, usually got dolls, a baby buggy, dishes and once a small electric stove. I remember getting a typewriter that I could use by typing one letter at a time. I'm a little faster now.

The "Windows of Christmas" during the 25 years we were in Decatur, Illinois, will always stand out. More than 200 people were involved in each production. We had large plate glass windows in the church's educational wing for this dramatic light and sound production, created and directed for years by Jim Mifflin. It could all be seen and heard in the comfort of one's automobile. Several thousand people saw it each year and it was featured on television and in newspapers. Kitty, Elizabeth, Mark and I will never forget those days, celebrated with hundreds of the best friends we have ever had.

One thing about Christmas never changes. There can be no Christmas without Jesus Christ. It is highlighted in Luke 2:11, "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Kitty joins me in wishing the thousands who read this column every week in many parts of world a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.