Anyone who knows me knows that Halloween is my favorite time of year. Heck, my home sports some low-key “spooky” decorations year-round.

But much like Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” I also have a rather large soft spot in my heart for the Christmas holiday. I’m a fan of all things that go bump in the night, and that includes the sound of Santa clambering out of his sleigh on the roof.

Spending much of my childhood in Georgia, I was fortunate enough to have a big family. Well, my immediate family wasn’t very large, but my parents were from a generation that liked to fill the house with kids. And since those kids went on to have a few kids of their own, Christmas gatherings were an absolute whirlwind of festive fun surrounded by aunts, uncles and more cousins than I can count on my fingers and toes.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before that my parents were divorced. Wait! Don’t stop reading; this isn’t about to evolve into a sad tale.

While parents separating obviously carries a number of negatives for the kids involved, it’s not all bad. For instance, it brought two loving, absolutely fantastic step-parents into my life. I consider that a blessing, because they both helped make me the man I am today and gave me a life I look back on with great fondness.

And double the parents meant double the holiday festivities, too. You know how great Thanksgiving dinner is? How about two of those bad boys, back to back? And once Christmas rolled around, that meant I got two days of running around with my cousins, causing all kinds of chaos while the adults talked, played cards, argued about sports and put the finishing touches on another massive holiday meal.

Those kinds of gatherings happened less frequently as everyone got older, but I consider myself very lucky to have been able to make all of those memories, year after year, with multiple sides of the family. Not everyone gets to have those “Hallmark” holiday moments, so I know I’m a lucky guy.

Over time, traditions changed. My brother has a trio of young’uns who liked waking up on Christmas morning at their Ganma’s house. Since Aria (my evil cat) isn’t the best company during the holidays, that meant Uncle Ry-Ry was along for the ride.

I’ve spent many Christmas Eve nights of my adult life camped out on an inflatable mattress, knowing that about the time I finally settled into a deep sleep my niece and nephews would be hollering their heads off, asking if they could get up and see if Santa had paid them a visit.

More recently, with my Mom taking her much-deserved retirement back East, Jenn’s family has welcomed me over for the holidays, where her own siblings and a growing crop of kiddos make the holidays frantic and fun.

Wherever the holidays happen to find you this season and however you choose to celebrate, I hope it’s with friends, family, or at least a cat that doesn’t bite you for fun. Make some new memories and I’ll see you back here in 2020.