Christmas Goodwill

One Christmas, I called a dear friend to wish him Merry Christmas. Years earlier, I’d made him what I call a pre-quest—a bequest given while someone (me) is still alive. I write about this in my book, The Happiness Experiment. I called it a Happiness Grant because that was the point.

He’d been worried about money for a long time—never really had economic peace. Now he could be at peace.

So, when I called that Christmas, he said, “Since you made that Happiness Grant (the pre-quest), every day is Christmas Day.”

I laughed. It was such a perfect line.

What he meant wasn’t, “I get presents all year.” He meant the feelings of Christmas—warmth, gratitude, peace.

That’s what I love about Christmas at its best. It nudges us toward goodwill. It softens the edges. People hold doors a little longer and wave you in even when it’s technically their turn. They say the kind thing they were thinking anyway. Civilization, briefly, gets a touch more civilized.

Gifts are part of it. An economist might tell you the most efficient gift is cash. Fair enough. Cash is hard to misunderstand. It never has to be returned, and it always fits.

But Christmas gifts aren’t only about efficiency. They’re a way of asking and answering: Do you know me? Did you try? The best gifts say, “I noticed,” and “I cared enough to think.”

Christmas is a spirit—warmth, good cheer, benevolence.

And if that’s what Christmas is, my friend had it exactly right. It would be lovely if we could keep the warmth, joy, and goodwill alive—make every day Christmas Day.

Carl B. Barney

12/26/25