I have a favorite Christmas mug ... clear glass, with the loveliest snow-covered hills, white-frosted trees, and shadowy-blue barren trunks ... I know it isn't 'traditional, no Christmas trees or manger scene or Santa ... it's actually my 'peace on earth' mug, and ... it's My favorite 'December evening to settle in with some good music and be thankful for the holiday season and all it brings ... I think about spending time with my parents, and a sister I see maybe three times a year ...and about the year it was warm enough to go outside and use the skates we got for Christmas ... or times when the snow drifts were taller than I was and packed enough to walk across ... the first year my folks spent in their new house, or visiting the sister who has blessed me with six nieces and nephews ... Christmas morning chaos, and how wondrous it is ... Christmases with my grandparents ...homemade sugar cookies, 'NOEL' on the mantelpiece, homemade gifts and huge family dinners ... and when one set started wintering down south, we got two Christmases every year ... we got our snowy one, and a warm, go-to-the-beach Christmas as well ... I think about Christmas Past, and the approaching Christmas Present, and oh, what memories will Be made ... I think about all this on quiet December evenings when I hold this little mug in my hands and savor the warmth it holds ... peace on earth, good will toward men ... © Shelly L. Flynn