What Makes It Feel Like Christmas?

I caught myself saying yesterday, "It doesn't feel like Christmas."  I said this because of the balmy temperatures we are having in middle Tennessee this Christmas.  At this time last year we were in a full fledged blizzard and Glen and I were on hold as my little sister was trying to fly into Chattanooga.  We ended up picking her up in Knoxville and were grateful to have her in our possession even though the ride home during the storm was tricky. Once we reached the mountains the road disappeared all-together and we had to travel by God's grace and mercy and He did not fail us.
So I began thinking about what really makes it feel like Christmas.  Is it the music and the shopping?  Is it the decorations and the sweets?  Maybe its the parties and the presents.  Is it being around friends and family?  I have to say, all these things are a part of what makes Christmas special but you really don't need all these things or any of any of them for that matter.
This year I put up fewer decorations, baked less goodies and have no family around for the holiday but my hubby.  But when I entered God's House this morning, it felt like Christmas.  God's Son is what makes it feel like Christmas but you need Him in your life to experience it.  I hear the music in my heart and I see His awesome decorations everywhere I look.  He has blessed me with so many precious gifts including the desire to give to others. He has blessed me with a wonderful family yet I am even more blessed to be His child.  So do we need the cold and the snow to make it feel like Christmas.  No, we just needed the Son of God coming to earth in the form of a Child. He came to be a sacrifice for our sins so that we could have eternal life.  We only have to accept His perfectly free gift of salvation.   So in the words of my favorite new Christmas song.....A Baby Changes Everything.