As I was driving through the small town where I live yesterday, I couldn’t help but smile as I saw neighbors putting up garlands, stores stringing lights and people decorating their lawns for the holidays.

It’s that time of year when everyone brings out their best dresses and festoons their homes with decorations and I always find it heart-warming to see how we dress up for the holidays.

It’s an interesting phenomenon since the first Christmas was celebrated simply and without any hoopla, in a desert filled with sand and palm trees.

But, whether you celebrate the birth of Christ, the Festival of Lights or the coming of Santa (or any other occasion), there’s a crisp sparkle of festivity in the air and it seems the bright side is the only side that’s visible

When I married my husband, I discovered that his family traditions were even more festive than mine and now get caught up in a whole lot of new ways to celebrate the season.

Around the middle of December he starts by baking Christmas cookies. But this is not your normal Christmas cookie baking session. He bakes many, many dozen! Then we gather round the table with his daughters and a handful of neighbors and friends to paint and decorate the piles of confectionary with glitter and frosting.

A few days before Christmas, we pile into the car and drive around the neighborhood delivering them to the homes of our friends, who eagerly anticipate this annual holiday visit.

He has also collected dozens of ornaments over the years. But there are no store-bought ornaments in this home – they are all memories of a significant time in his life, most of which are handmade by his mother to commemorate a special occasion.

There’s the miniature photo frame ornament with a photo of everyone at their 60th anniversary. And the one made from ribbon candy (which she always had on her dresser– and was teased about for years). And there’s the miniature musical instrument attached to an angel as a memory of her husband (my father-in-law) who died that year.

For me, living far from my own family, these touches are wonderful and unique and serve to bond us closer together at this time of the year.

So, as we move into the holiday season, my wish is that we might all make a special effort to connect with one another. Smile at the hassled driver who cuts you off. Help someone in need. Take a packet of cookies to the clerk in the post office. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Put a quarter in your neighbor’s meter. Do something small every day and not only will it warm the hearts of others; it will warm yours as well.