Give me a palm tree adorned with twinkling lights over a douglas fir any day. For the last dozen years or more we've spent our Christmas holidays on a tropical beach somewhere. Not ones for glitzy resorts, we prefer low-key "no shoes, no shirt, no problem" kinds of places. Some years, friends and family have joined us...other years it's been "just us."

Last Christmas Eve, Dan and I met our son on Ambergris Caye off the coast of Belize. For the next nine days, we snorkeled, swam, fished, ate well, and enjoyed one another's company. This time together is our gift to one another--a very welcome one. (If I never set foot in another shopping mall during the pre-Christmas frenzy--which I have not done in many years--I will be a very happy woman.)

We started our holiday last year with Christmas Eve dinner at one of the island's many outdoor restaurants. Then we hopped in our golf cart (the preferred method of transportation here) and putted into town. Mass was just ending at the church on Front Street, and in the park on the edge of the sea a giant Christmas tree was decorated with red ribbons. From a stage at one edge of the park, children entertained us with special songs and dances. Santa was quite a hit as he drove by, waving merrily from his golf cart. Vendors sold jewelry and other trinkets, and we each selected one small item to mark the occasion.

Christmas Day, Brandon and I swung in hammocks beneath the shade of tall palms while Dan played his guitar and serenaded us. A tiny Belizean girl spent all day there with us, playing with the new doll she had gotten for Christmas. Once in a while we would hoist ourselves from the hammocks and shuffle to the bar for another Belikin (the world-famous Belizean beer).

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First Published: Dec 22, 2007