It’s the beginning of December. Have you decked your halls yet? 

My husband and I begin decorating for the holiday the day after Thanksgiving. I admit, I go a bit crazy with the decorations. Each November, I put up trees throughout the house — including the bathroom!

Last year, I decided to cut back a little — some decorations stayed in their boxes and were immediately returned to the crawlspace, and instead of decorating eight trees, I just did six. But still, I like going cuckoo for Christmas and enjoy putting out my snowman collection, unpacking my Christmas china, and hanging up treasured ornaments acquired throughout the years. 

I hope this month’s magazine will bring a little holiday cheer to your home. Find out more about the jolly good man on the cover starting on page 19. Add a little peppermint to your holidays with recipes on pages 17 and 18. Check out the events calendar on pages 26 and 27 to see what Christmas events you can add to your calendar.

On pages 24 and 25, we’ll introduce you to this year’s Youth Power and Hope Award winners, who are making a difference in their communities — not only during this season of giving, but throughout the year.

Since I did just mention season of giving … I’ve donned my Santa hat and am ready to give one of our dear readers a CD of Christmas music. “Now That’s What I Call Merry Christmas” includes favorites like “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Blue Christmas,” “Feliz Navidad” and “White Christmas.” See below for details on how to enter this giveaway. 

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! See you again in 2018!