I’m a sucker for the winter holidays. I like the decorations, the food, the smells, the family togetherness, and the opportunity to wear cable-knit sweaters. I like the feeling of magic and enchantment the whole month of December embodies, and I love watching my kids’ excitement grow day by day.

My children are still relatively young: nine, six, and eleven months. Because of this, our family traditions are still evolving. I wish I could concretely proclaim that we always do this or that, but so far we’re kind of flying by the seat of our pants. I’m okay with this.

The one thing I can say for certain is that I will somehow find a use for a slow cooker or two during the holiday festivities.

I know. It sounds corny, and you might even think that I’m exaggerating, but I’m really not. Over the past nine years of being a parent, I’ve hosted: Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day brunch, lunch, and dinner, and have had overnight guests four times in five years. I’ve also done New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. In case you were wondering. Just not all at once. That would be nutty.

I’ve made the entire dinner in the slow cooker, or simply used it to make dessert. I’ve also prepared hot drinks and fun appetizers. I’ve even made ornaments, gifts, and used it as an air freshener.

My friend Jenny jokes that it doesn’t matter how you raise your kids, they’re all going to end up in therapy anyway. I sometimes wonder what my kids will think about their childhood when they’re all grown and have left the nest. I hope they remember (fondly) lying in the middle of the floor brainstorming about new uses for the slow cooker. I hope they remember folding over magazine pages with recipe ideas. I hope they remember pushing open the front door to a house filled with cooking smells, and how they’d always forget to say “hi” before asking “what are you cooking?” I hope they remember laughing at how I burst in tears over the bacon-wrapped scallops fiasco.

I hope they remember how very much I love them and how nothing in life is more important to me than seeing their smiling faces every day. Have a joyful and blessed Holiday season. Lots and lots of hugs.