This is the first Christmas that my oldest child, Fritz, now 6 1/2, is full of anticipation. The kind of anticipation that can only come when you already have a sense of what to expect. In previous years, he has known that SOMETHING was going to happen. We would talk about the season, the reason, the presents, the cookies, the parties, but he’d not really understand. This year, he knows EVERYTHING. It’s great. Mom, I can’t wait to look for the pickle on the tree…whoever finds it gets a prize! Mom, St. Nicholas brings coins, but they’re really chocolate inside! Mom, we ALWAYS go to Nana and Grandpa’s house on Christmas day! Mom, do you hear that song? It’s a Christmas song! And the best part is the excitment that he is able to generate in his siblings, which in unlike any excitement I could ever hope to inspire. Mom, says Billy, when are we going to put up the Christmas tree?