Ask adults about their childhood holidays. They remember who was there more than what was under the tree.

Memory is picky about holidays. Thirty years later the presents are mostly gone from the account, while who stood in the kitchen, who told the same joke, and who had moved away by the following year all stay. Objects are the part of a celebration that fades first.

Ask a parent or grandparent what a holiday was like when they were young. Then spend less of this year’s planning on things and more on who will be in the room.