I think staying away from the malls is one of the best ways to make Christmas merry. My family is really cutting back on gifts, mostly doing small things and the gag gift/white elephant exchange. This is good, and it makes everything much less stressful.

Church tonight was nice enough, though not as nice as some other Christmas Eve services I've been to. And the party we went to was fun; it was nice to meet the people my parents have been spending time with since the move.

There was a sad moment, though. I met a little boy, almost a year old. Later on, I found out that his father, who is in the military, has been gone for nearly a year. Probably left right after his son was born, hasn't seen him since. And that just makes me so sad.