What makes the holidays special for you and your family?

Reflecting on the past . . . proud my family, friends, and colleagues survived yet another year.

Seeing the excitement in my daughter's eyes when we go down to the Elipse and see the National Christmas Tree and the trees of each state. She loves finding Illinois and Virginia and looking at the ornaments. She loves walking by the White House and seeing the decorations. She is so happy it's infectious. Her amazement and wonderment just fills my heart with joy.

Missing five Christmases due to deployment makes every one I get with the kids special.

I remember one Thanksgiving in Afghanistan that thanks to a TDY trip gone awry, I spent away from home and my unit. Sitting there all alone without anything I was thankful for really made the sense of loss more acute.

There are times that I don't even like the hassle and hustle of the holidays, but the joy of my kids on Christmas morning grows 1SG Grinch's heart two sizes every year.

For one I am with my family, in Retirement mode and spending precious moments with the ones I love for a life time. I am so grateful for this year to be home. I was in Afghanistan last year.

My kids open one present (which is always 'Christmas jammies'), then they change into them. I then load my family into the car and we drive around and look at all of the Christmas lights. People put so much time and effort into putting them up to share with the world, we love to drive around and appreciate them.

I also save my change throughout the year and when we start Christmas shopping, we take all of the change I saved, roll it and go around and hand it out to those hungry, cold or otherwise in need. I love seeing my children get excited when they are able to help those less fortunate then ourselves.

Christmas is such a magical time, one of the few times of the year where I feel that all is well and good with the world. People are more willing to help others without judging, people are just typically nicer to others...

I enjoy watching Christmas through my children's eyes. The look of wonderment in my 2 year old's eyes, when he sees Christmas trees and houses lit up, makes me smile. I am proud of my 6 year old as she is now understanding the joy of giving to others.

My family isn't close-knit and it reflects in the fact that we don't talk to each other a lot, and we're scattered across the globe. I have two sons, I am unmarried, and I live close to my boys. What makes it special for me is that after seven years of being deprived of knowing my oldest son, I am now able to enjoy the holidays with my two boys and nobody can stop me.