For me, Christmas has always been a time of joy and giving.

I know it’s not the same for everyone, especially those who have lost love ones over the years.

When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to wake up early Christmas morning and see what treasures waited for me. It seemed it was always my older brother George and I who were the first ones to make our way downstairs and look at the piles of gifts under the tree.

I always took for granted all the preparation that went into getting the living room ready for the holidays.

I remember it was usually my mother and sisters who did most of the work - setting up the tree, then arranging the Christmas lights, ornaments and tinsel. A soft white blanket below the tree gave the impression of snow to make the look complete.

We had a chimney in the room that had been sealed shut years ago because of city regulations prohibiting fireplaces in multi-story homes. It was painted dark brown and really didn’t do much to enhance the holiday spirit.

My mother remedied that by buying a roll of red brick paper that she taped across the front of the fireplace. Stockings were hung on the mantel, each one with the name of our family members, (mother, father and seven kids).

It was a small living room, but we all managed to find enough space to tear off wrapping paper when we started opening our gifts.

We never had a real tree - or even a big artificial tree because of the lack of space. Our first tree, at least the first one I can recall, was green with a four-foot high center pole. Each branch had to be inserted into holes in the pole. The completed tree looked great, but every year after Christmas we had to sweep up all the plastic pine needles that had fallen off.

A few years later my father bought a similar tree, but a silver color, like tinsel. That lasted longer and had less post-Christmas cleanup. It wasn’t as realistic as the green one, but none of us ever complained.

It was a different story at my grandmother’s house. My grandparents and aunt always had a real tree - decorated almost to the ceiling. I was never there when they were getting things ready for the holidays, but it must have taken them a long time.

The living room there was much bigger. There were Christmas cards draped on string along the walls. And they had a real fireplace.

That’s where our family, including aunts, uncles and cousins, would have the Christmas dinner most years.

Over the years, I’ve lived in a few homes and had a few different types of trees. I’ve visited other peoples’ homes and seen how they decorate their trees for Christmas. Some are big and ornate. Others are much simpler.

This year, my wife Rita and I decided not to spend a lot of time setting up a big tree with lots of decorations in our house in St. Cloud.

The living room is small and we won’t have a huge group of people visiting. So we put up a simple little white tree with colorful lights.

It’s all we need to get into the Holiday spirit.

We already have everything else.

Merry Christmas.