A Christmas to Remember

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(By: Chip Schultz)

Indeed, every Christmas is special in its own right; but this year, Christmas was a bit sweeter for us. No matter the age, children will always get excited for presents - birthday presents, Christmas presents, or just anything for them that is giftwrapped. By having the whole family involved, not just in the planning, but in the logistics, the fundraising, and even the cost of our journey to Washington D.C., we were all in agreement to take it easy on the gift giving as a family. Instead, we would donate anything extra toward our goal.

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Which is what I love so much about Santa Claus; he always knows - everything! Most years, he has left something extra for the kids; something REALLY cool. But, this year, instead of leaving them each a lavish gift, Santa seemed to know exactly what they were up to. After our traditional Christmas day gift openening, we discovered a small stack of unlabled gifts (four of them) in Santa's special wrapping paper. To our surprise, each gift was connected to our goal.

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To help us sort out our itinerary, the Top 10 of Washington D.C. was perfect. This amazing little reference book explains the top 10 of everything to see and do in D.C.

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Great Monuments of Washington D.C. is a DVD made by The History Channel. It takes the kids upclose to each of the key monuments found along the Washington Mall.
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One of our favorite pastimes, and now a tradition, is putting together a puzzle during the holidays. So a 1000 piece Washington D.C. puzzle is not only aprapos, but helps them get physically orientated with D.C. in general.

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Arlington National Cemetery is sure to be a highlight of our journey. So Where Valor Rests, a coffee table book, will simply give them a deeper insight to the most sacred of American soil.

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Needless to say, Santa Claus seemed to know the Schultz kids quite well this year!