If you celebrate, Christmas is a time for spending time with family and friends. I'm spending the weekend with my family and am thrilled to be able to see people who I only ever get a chance to see this time of year.

Sometimes it's easy to look at holidays like Christmas through a pessimistic lens. After all, it's all about corporate greed, right? It's only for christians who believe in the birth of Christ, right?

I think Christmas can be whatever you want it to be. Sure, businesses try to get you to make Christmas all about buying things, and there's a lot of "god stuff" thrown around this time of year, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this tradition is what brings people together unlike any other time of the year. This season, even if you celebrate something other than Christmas, is an excuse for people to get together and appreciate one another.

So with that, I'm signing off BirchTree for the rest of the weekend and won't be back until at least Monday.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!