In December of 2022, I took my family to the Kennedy Center to see my pal Laura Benanti sing in the Holiday Pops concert with the National Symphony Orchestra. It turns out they usually have a surprise visit from Santa Claus to share a message of hope and love with the audience. Except this time, Santa didn’t show up. My husband jokingly mentioned to Laura that I had a Santa suit at home and within a few hours, I was standing on the stage of the Kennedy Center with Laura and the NSO.

I’ve been stepping into the magical boots every year since then and there’s nothing quite so amazing and fulfilling as seeing people’s eyes light up at remembering the feeling they had waking up every year on Christmas morning.

May you never be too old to search the skies on Christmas Eve.