The news business is never really “slow.” We may have a slow news day, but never a whole month. However, December is our busiest time of year. We get to cover all the Christmas plays, toy drives, shopping experiences, church programs, and Christmas concerts. Saturday was a jam-packed day full of all of these things.

I started off my morning at Walmart, covering Shop with a Yellow Jacket or SWAYJ. While there, I noticed some football players who were not with Thomas County Central and quickly realized it was Noel with the NFL too. After a quick interview with the founder of the event, Jessie Small, a former Philadelphia Eagle, I rushed off to my next event of the day.

As the rain began to drizzle, I slid inside the comfortable seats at Thomasville On Stage and Company to watch “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

I enjoyed the laughs and cute kids, before finishing off my long day of Christmas activities with “The Christmas Post” performance in Cairo.

While it was undoubtedly one of the most hectic days of work in a while, the kids and the joy of them shopping and acting on stage brought back many memories of growing up.

As a kid, my parents took us to church every week.

On Wednesdays, you could find the Holloways enjoying a great “Wednesday night supper” in the Fellowship Hall before the kids were carted off to music, while the adults enjoyed a mid-week sermon and prayer.

During that time of music, I was far too young to remember any lines of a play, so we performed on the last Wednesday night supper before Christmas a rendition of “Jingle Bells” complete with those rattling bells, kids could wear on their hands.

As I got older, I partook in Terrific Tuesday with my church.

Kids in grades 1st-4th were picked up every Tuesday to go to the church, where they would do homework, learn about God, and most importantly learn the Christmas play.

Our first production was “Candy Cane Lane.”

I don’t remember much; I know I sang the songs and my parents came to watch me.

Another year we performed “Meet Me in the Manger.”

After every performance, kids and parents were invited to the Fellowship Hall to meet Santa Claus, but in order to receive, we were all taught, that you must first give.

We gave toys to Toys for Tots and canned goods for the soup kitchen.

My favorite year was when we all partook in Operation Christmas Child.

I hate to show my age, but back then, you were encouraged to include a school picture and write the children a letter. You would always make sure to put a pre-stamped envelope and stationery in the shoebox, in case the kids ever wanted to become your pen pal.

Every year I hoped my kid would be my pen pal, and while it never happened, I still love creating shoeboxes for kids across the globe. I have since learned they may never understand what our letter said; they may not even know the English language, but they will always know they were loved by us.

While Saturday I felt somewhat bogged down by all the work, I think it was in a way needed.

I wish we could all look at Christmas activities the way we did as kids. I wish we could all see the fun and joy of giving and performing on stage even if it’s just jingling a bell for our parents, who will clap, despite us being terribly off-key.

I think Saturday’s day full of activities made me see the joy of Christmas as a kid again, and I hope in some small way this season of bustling days will make you see things with new eyes.

My wish for myself and our readers is that in the coming days, as we all enter the busiest and most stress-induced week of prepping for Christmas, we look around and see the sweet innocence of kids taking it all in, enjoying every moment, loving one another and providing for those who need it most.