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A scroll through 2019 Christmas photos found me sitting on Santa&rsquo;s lap hugging him at a big holiday party.
				This year, there have been no large gatherings for me, and I wouldn&rsquo;t even think of getting close enough to Santa for a hug.
				In fact, I&rsquo;m a little down. Christmas, just like the previous 2020 holidays, will be completely different. For my family, it will be quiet. Since the holidays won&rsquo;t bring a house filled with family and friends, I wasn&rsquo;t going to spend time decorating or putting a tree up. A close friend of mine shamed me into it. Once I decorated the tree, it immediately cheered me up. I decided to bring the rest of the decorations down from the attic and my attitude improved as I continued decorating.
				I realized that this year more than ever, I needed to stay positive and do things to brighten my mood. Decorating and baking cookies while I listened to Christmas music did this for me. I started to think about other things that make me happy and for which I&rsquo;m grateful.
				Much of what makes me happy involves my friends.
				One in particular who always brightens my day is Jill McGlynn. All I need to do to put a smile on my face is scroll through the social media posts of Jill and Pat McGlynn. The photos of their happy children can turn any bad day around. Jill gave birth to her second child, a baby girl named Delaney Grace, in September. She joined her 2-year-old brother, Ethan, who was thrilled to have a little sister. Seeing Pat and Jill&rsquo;s daily photos always improves my mood. Although welcoming a newborn in the midst of a pandemic may not be the most ideal situation, Pat and Jill make the best of it, and that includes celebrating every holiday to the fullest.
				Jill told me the hardest part of recent months has been not being able to share the joy of Delaney&rsquo;s arrival with in-person visits with family and friends. The pandemic has forced them to stick to a small circle and celebrate with only immediate family. This has meant there are many close to the couple who have not had the chance to meet Delaney. In fact, when Delaney was born, not even the couple&rsquo;s parents were allowed to visit the hospital.
				The changes in the way the family socializes doesn&rsquo;t mean they don&rsquo;t celebrate. On the contrary, the McGlynns will do the traditional decorating and baking this Christmas, along with incorporating many new traditions. Jill told me that decorating the tree was a big event.
				It&rsquo;s the first year that Ethan is fully aware of all of the celebration surrounding the holiday and he really enjoyed the entire process of decorating the tree. It started with a visit to a local tree farm to find the perfect tree. Ethan also loved bringing the decorations down from the attic. So much so, that he helped both sets of grandparents bring their decorations down and decorate their trees as well. While helping Pat&rsquo;s parents, he discovered Pat&rsquo;s old trains. Of course, they came down with the decorations and Ethan has since been mesmerized by the old train set.
				Jill said she was a little disappointed that her kids won&rsquo;t be able to sit on Santa&rsquo;s lap this year, but Ethan understands that it&rsquo;s because of the virus. Instead, the couple has found innovative ways to bring Santa directly to the kids. Pat&rsquo;s parents bought a Santa suit and make weekly trips for Santa to jingle bells, walk by the house, and check to make sure Ethan is being a good boy. Ethan is beyond thrilled to hear Santa&rsquo;s bells and look out the window. On one recent visit, Santa left an Elf on the Shelf. Ethan told his mom it was &ldquo;magical.&rdquo; Jill said that although the holidays are different, seeing them through Ethan&rsquo;s eyes is special.
				Ethan&rsquo;s other magical moments come from his daily visits from Elf on the Shelf. He can&rsquo;t wait to get up each morning to see if he was good enough for Elf to leave a surprise from Santa. I&rsquo;m pretty sure Ethan is never disappointed. There&rsquo;s been no shortage of Santa sightings either. A family friend is helping to set up a virtual visit with Santa for the kids in the comfort and safety of their home. Ethan was also excited to see Santa come by on the Plains fire truck. He has a special way of saying fire truck that really can&rsquo;t be printed, but did give me a chuckle.
				Ethan doesn&rsquo;t seem to care if the holidays are different, he&rsquo;s just so excited by every moment. He got a sneak peek at what&rsquo;s in store on Christmas morning when St. Nicholas recently filled his shoes with goodies. Jill said COVID-wise Ethan was worried because he was afraid his shoes might have had germs on them. His mom assured him it was fine.
				Jill and her mom will also get together to bake and decorate her grandmother&rsquo;s anisette butter cookies. A favorite family recipe which is shared below, Jill said it&rsquo;s a tradition they look forward to keeping. The McGlynn&rsquo;s are appreciative of the extra time Ethan has had with his grandparents, from the visits from Santa to nighttime drives with Jill&rsquo;s dad to enjoy the Christmas lights.
				Jill said although for many 2020 has not been a good year, she feels she has been blessed. In addition to welcoming Delaney to the family, the couple has gotten to spend extra time at home with their children, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. While their weekend schedules were always full, the family is now enjoying more time at home watching Christmas movies and fully enjoying their children. Jill told me that this time spent with her family is what she&rsquo;s most thankful for this year. I can see why. Viewing the magic and wonder of the holidays through a child&rsquo;s eyes can make us all happier this year.
				I wish all of my readers a Happy, Healthy Holiday.
				Jill&rsquo;s Grandmother&rsquo;s Anise Butter Cookies
				2 &#8532; cups sifted flour
				&#188; teaspoon salt
				1 cup butter
				1 cup sugar
				1 egg
				2 teaspoon vanilla
				1 teaspoon anise oil
				Cream butter and sugar. Blend in egg, vanilla and anise. Sift together dry ingredients and gradually mix into wet mixture. Divide dough into about 5 small balls. Refrigerate until dough is firm enough to roll easily.
				Roll and cut into holiday shapes. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 min. Makes approx 6 dozen cookies.
				Ruth Corcoran is a professional marketer, former restaurant owner, and community advocate. She resides in Bear Creek. Readers can reach Ruth by emailing ruth@corcoranpr.com.

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