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It’s not about the presents, although I’ve never turned one down. It’s also not about the decorations, although I do love putting them up each year. Christmas is about community, spending time with friends and family, giving gifts and spreading joy. 

Think back to some of your best Christmas memories. Who did you spend those times with? What did you do? How do you remember those times? My wife and I have a tradition. Every country we visit, every city or town we drop in at, we pick up a Christmas ornament to symbolize the trip. It’s also to help us look back and remember. There’s one of the Book of Kells, which we saw one day while traveling through Dublin, Ireland. There’s a handmade design from a merchant at the night market in Delhi, India. We have pieces from the United Arab Emirates and Jamaica, as well as some closer to home, like a crab from the Outer Banks. But none of those measure up to another piece. It’s a bit smaller, put together with wood and paint, a gift from our five-year-old niece. She was extremely proud of herself last year for (almost) putting it together herself. Yes, she got some help with the wood, but everything else was 100% Eleanor’s design. Now we can look back and remember that, while displaying her work on our tree. 

And that’s what we’re focusing on in this month’s edition of Farmville the Magazine, memories of Christmas, of family and different ways of celebrating the season. Farmville author Jerry Todt wanted to focus on a different type of story, one he didn’t see as much in bookstores. Now that story is a Hallmark Channel movie, part of their holiday celebration. And maybe, in turn, Jerry will help another family develop their own tradition, through watching his work, as reporter Abigail Grifno explains. 

There’s also the makers of Farmville, those who build arts and crafts with their hands. Reporter Rachel Austin sits down with several of our painters and pottery makers, to talk about how they got started and what they enjoy about the work. If you’re looking for a recipe to help warm up on a cold winter’s night, we can help there too. And who can forget about the Farmville Christmas tree lighting? We’ll take you back to this year’s event. 

There’s something for everyone in this month’s edition of the magazine, so we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did putting it together. And we hope you have a Merry Christmas, wherever the holiday finds you. 

Brian Carlton is editor of Farmville the Magazine. 

He can be reached at Brian.Carlton@FarmvilletheMag.com.