The 2015 Christmas season is here in full force with all the usual trappings and activity. There was a brief time in my life when I didn’t particularly like this holiday, but I made my peace with it and now enjoy it fully. I look forward to Rudolph and Frosty, Scrooge and his spirits, Clara and her prince, and of course Santa and his elves. And I take time to remember the most beautiful Christmas I ever had — my Chicago Christmas.

I was probably about five or six and still half-believed in Santa Claus. I knew there was no white-bearded fellow who flew around the world in a reindeer-driven sleigh, delivering gifts to kids. But the Santa myth still had a grip on me. St. Nick still had some magic.

On that particular Christmas, my mother whisked me away to Chicago where my grandparents had gotten us a large hotel room at the Palmer House. The entire building seemed alive with the Christmas spirit. Dazzling lights and an enormous Christmas tree had taken over the lobby. In a corridor that stretched from the lobby to the street, box-like display windows featured toys, decorations, and frolicking Christmas characters. Outside, a thick layer of snow added to the enchantment.

The high point of the trip came when my grandmother took me to Marshall Field’s — the biggest store of any kind I had ever been to. Escalators and elevators kept in constant motion, and the stream of shoppers going to and fro seemed endless. Santa was there, of course, but so were his helpers — Aunt Holly and Uncle Mistletoe, who were so much like my grandparents. And there were toys — mountains of them, including an electric train I hoped to find under my own tree on December 25. Every step I took through the store or on the city streets brought a new discovery, a new surprise, a new joy.

I’m not sure how long we stayed in Chicago; we may even have come home before Christmas day. But the glorious images from that Chicago Christmas left an imprint on my heart along with glorious memories that endure to this day. Have to go. There’s a few more gifts I need to buy.