By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Merry Christmas!

With lifestyles that move quicker every year, my hope is that the holiday season has given you an opportunity to slow down.

To spend extra time with your family without distractions.

To celebrate longstanding traditions.

To create new traditions that were either intended or unintended.

To fill your house with the welcomed smells of baked cookies, pies and pastries.

To have a night of nothing but hot chocolate and a Christmas movie.

To enjoy your children discovering Christmas house lights out their windows as you drive to and from.

To find just the right spot on your tree for all of your favorite ornaments.

To remember lost loved ones that left lasting love and legacies that still guide your families.

To find excitement in the treasure hunt for that one hard-to-get gift for a special loved one.

To capture the eyes of wonder of a young child as they look up at Santa as they sit on his knee.

To remember that gifts are nice, but to find joy in the real gifts all around you every day.

To realize that you don’t need Christmas to find the joy in the real gifts all around you every day.

To find the innocence of excitement a child has each year for the first real snowfall.

To laugh at memories that have grown into stories from Christmases of yesteryear.

To not forget the true magic a kid feels on Christmas Eve.

To safe travels to and from while visiting your family — and those first hugs with loved ones that you have not seen in months.

To not run out of ideas for your Elf on the Shelf.

To find time even when you think you are out of time.

So from Portage Sports to you, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!