It appears every year I try and capture the magic of Christmas I knew when I was younger, and every year it becomes more difficult. It doesn't help that there appears to be more doom and gloom this year than in years past. I hope this changes, but I am not hopeful it will. I have learned over the years that the statement that it is always darkest before the dawn is true, it's just that some periods of darkness are longer than others. Cueing up some Tchaikovsky so I know that for at least two hours, I can lose myself in the tree like I did when I was a child, fight the Mouse King, and sit with Clara and the Nutcracker prince and watch all the dances :)