The music!

Kids love any noise, of course  -- so don't overlook the joyful kind. In the olden days, before iPods brought every song in the universe to your fingertips on demand, my dad used to tune in to a local station that played Christmas classics the entire week before the holiday. It became the sound track of the season for us.

So teach your child the same Yiddish songs that you learned as a kid. Or let your budding ballerina pirouette around the kitchen to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Or all go caroling together.

The people!
Granted, a 9-month-old in the throes of stranger anxiety may not welcome the parade of unfamiliar faces that the holiday brings. But for older kids, gathering together with friends and family is often a treat, especially when so many loved ones live clear across the country (or lead really busy lives just across town). Leslie Stallings, a mom of two in Clearwater, Florida, hosts a Hanukkah bash for dozens of people every year, and her two boys love not only the party atmosphere but taking part in creating the guest list. "They really think about whom they want to share their holiday with," she says. "Most of our relatives live far away, but we're still able to create that sense of family."

The stories!
We tell or read our children stories all year round. But the holidays are especially rich with messages that teach and entertain. The story of Baby Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season, after all, as the story of the Maccabees explains Hanukkah, and the seven principles give meaning to Kwanza. There's no shortage of wonderful tales to be told at this time of year, whether you choose these or the more secular exploits of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, or Frosty the Snowman.

Or make up your own. My godmother used to arrive at our family's Christmas Eve gathering sharing news bulletins she'd heard about Santa's sleigh having been spotted in the sky. She'd looked up herself as she drove over, she would say, and indeed she saw a little red dot in the sky, Rudolph's nose. Throughout the evening she'd give us updates  -- the sleigh had been spotted over China, then Hawaii, now California. Since she was not normally one to pull your leg, I took these reports very seriously. If Auntie Helen saw Rudolph on his way, then it must be true!

Madeleine Monnot was 6 last year when she read The Polar Express and saw the movie. In the story, a boy receives a sleigh bell from Santa Claus, which he can hear ring as long as he still believes. "After that, she told me she wanted one of Santa's sleigh bells for Christmas," says her mom, Tonya, of Westerville, Ohio. "It was the only thing she wanted and asked for."

Sure enough, Santa came through on Christmas morning, leaving Madeleine a beautiful silver bell, along with a special note. "She was overjoyed and truly touched," says Monnot. "She is so proud that she can hear that bell ring because ¿she believes.' As a mom, I hope that never changes."

Kids know what it's really all about.

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