✉️ Your Christmas bonus has officially arrived…

🎄Light at the end of the tunnel. A good holiday light display can spread magic and cheer to a community. But an exceptional holiday light display can do so much more.

That’s what Timothy Riebe has created in West Allis, Wisconsin.

Riebe decorates his entire block, including a 12,000 light tunnel for visitors to walk through. Two years ago, he created a non-profit called “Miracle on 64th Street” to collect donations from those visiting the spectacle. They can take in the magic of the lights and leave with both a heightened sense of holiday cheer and the warm feeling of having contributed to a worthy cause.

This year, Riebe is dedicating proceeds to Christmas gifts for the Harris family, which recently lost Kimosha Harris - wife of 20 years and mother to three children - to breast cancer. Kimosha’s husband Damian shared that he felt honored by the gesture, with a lot of weight removed from his shoulders thanks to the support of the community.

The “Miracle on 64th Street” lights up a block, and that’s a gift of warmth on its own, but it also lights up a community with togetherness and compassion, and that’s truly the stuff of miracles.

🧶 Kokua for Christmas. Kokua is a Hawaiian word representing an act of help, aid, or personal assistance. After the destruction wreaked by the Maui wildfires, the island and its inhabitants were left in need of significant Kokua. While relief dollars poured in to help the displaced and aid in the rebuild, one ICU nurse from San Jose sought to deliver Christmas smiles.

Linda Higgins is a self-described “Christmas nut.” We all know the type: they own Christmas vests and display an unbelievable miscellany of holiday trinkets around the house. Higgins was struck by the fact that many of the displaced, particularly the children, had lost their stockings to the flames.

Higgins, her friends, and her neighbors sewed and stuffed more than 900 stockings, which were then transported and distributed to students at a Lahaina school. No store-bought, mass-produced holiday decor. Instead, it’s the real deal, handmade with a touch of holiday love.

The world could use more Christmas nuts, or at least more like Linda Higgins.

💌 Cards make Larry merry. 93-year-old veteran, Larry Pratt, was on a walk with his neighbor, Jared, when he mentioned that it seems like fewer people send Christmas cards these days - at least, he was certainly receiving less. Jared had an idea: he took to his Facebook groups to write a post asking that folks send cards to Larry.

The post went viral.

Larry lives alone, but his home isn’t feeling lonely this holiday season. He’s received almost 500 cards, lining the entirety of his house. It’s not just the typical, printed cards, though. Larry is receiving countless thoughtful letters and cards, complete with heartfelt wishes and stories. He had this to say about those who have answered the call and sent cards his way: “I want to let them know that I appreciate it, and it made my heart feel a lot better.”

It made my heart feel a lot better, too.

👟 Secret Santa’s secret sneakers. This week, family, friends, and colleagues around the world will play Secret Santa. They’ll share laughs and exchange gifts, but few Secret Santas will be as impactful as one mystery donor who dropped a pair of sneakers down the donation chute at Portland Rescue Mission’s Burnside Shelter.

While it’s not uncommon for the organization, which supports those struggling with homelessness and addiction in Portland, OR, to receive donations of clothing and shoes, these sneakers were special….and hard to miss. When a staffer noticed the donations included a striking gold pair of Air Jordan 3s, they knew something unique had found its way down the chute. They were able to identify the sneakers as one of only a handful of custom pairs made for filmmaker Spike Lee.

Famed Nike designer Tinker Hatfield then visited to authenticate and sign the shoes, and now they’re offered at auction at Sotheby’s. They’re estimated to sell for between $15,000 and $20,000.

Bidding closes this afternoon, but already, it’s up to $16,000, with proceeds benefiting Portland Rescue Mission. No doubt, every pair of donated shoes makes a difference, but the mystery donor of this particular pair knew their impact could be significant. What a fun story. Let’s all root for a bidding war.

Maybe someone could write a song about this fun Christmas mystery and call it “Christmas Shoes,” replacing one of the biggest downer holiday songs in existence.

🍁 The sticky bandits, apprehended again. Last week, we reveled in the tale of the Mona Lisa’s theft and subsequent recovery. This week, we remember the heist of something just as precious and valuable. I’ll give you a hint.

“I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup. I love maple syrup. I love maple syrup on pancakes. I love it on pizza. I like to take maple syrup and put a little bit in my hair when I’ve had a rough week. What do you think holds it up, slick?”

Over several months back in 2011 and 2012, a group of thieves perpetrated the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, siphoning nearly 3,000 tons of syrup valued at about $14 million. It was on this day in 2012 that authorities apprehended the first of the thieves.

Given the nature of the stolen goods, we can only assume this was the work of the Sticky Bandits, and that they were captured after enduring a tortuous round of booby traps deployed by a young boy protecting his home around the holidays.

👩‍🦽Rolled to refuge. In the midst of last week’s tragic shooting at UNLV, Natalie Matarazzo was left stranded, frozen, and afraid.

The junior is paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, making a swift escape in a scary situation even more complicated. While she attempted to flee to safety, her exodus understandably lacked speed.

Enter the unknown Great Samaritan.

A stranger happened upon Natalie, witnessed her plight, and approached to offer her assistance in pushing her out of harm’s way. The girl pushed Natalie a mile to the refuge of her apartment building. Unfortunately, in the chaos, Natalie wasn’t able to learn the girl’s identity, but whoever she is, she’s an incredible human being.

To stop amid the scariest chaos and panic to show incredible compassion to someone in need of it, all while making yourself more vulnerable to danger, is superhero stuff.

⛷️ Canadian tuxedos take the slopes. “I can’t compete with this guy!” 

“You can't compete? Are you kidding? You're Chris Brander. You're Hollywood, you date models! He's Jersey, he skis in his jeans. It's Dinkleman. It's Dusty Dinkleman.”

Sure, Chris Brander - played by Ryan Reynolds - was a cool and successful music executive in Just Friends, but we don’t need to turn our collective nose up at Dusty Dinkleman’s choice of ski attire. That was the thinking behind a recent effort in Jackson Hole to set the world record for most people skiing together in jeans. It was a rebuttal to the increasingly elitist nature of the sport.

The resort lowered lift passes to $25 for the day, and hordes of denim-clad skiers took to the slopes - 3,114 of them to be precise. The prior record was 102, set earlier this year. While there were denim jackets, skirts, and jorts, it’s unclear if anyone was brave enough to shred in JNCOs. It’s called fashion, sweetie.

⚽️ Put him in! Before football matches in the UK and Europe, the competing teams are often escorted onto the pitch by local youths, referred to as “mascots.” For the kids, it’s a dream opportunity: they get to walk onto the field clad in their favorite uniform, hand-in-hand with their favorite stars, at their favorite stadium in front of their fellow fans. This Tottenham Hotspur supporter didn’t take the opportunity for granted (must-watch).

Why stop at having him serve as a mascot? That young lad is ready to play 90 minutes! Inject that energy straight into my veins.

🏈 Off the field and into the community. What’s the best way to celebrate after leading a historic comeback on Monday Night Football?

For Titans’ rookie quarterback Will Levis, it was surprising the kids of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee with a shopping spree for gifts. But he’s not alone. Around the country, athletes are surprising or treating their young fans or otherwise giving back to their communities, all in the spirit of the holidays.

At Gillette Stadium, the Patriots’ Matthew Slater hosted 30 children from foster care organizations at a Christmas Celebration. Later in the week, he was present to deliver headphones and Chromebooks to 2,000 underserved youth on behalf of Corey’s Christmas and the Corey C. Griffin Foundation.

You don’t have to look far to find numerous stories like this during the holiday season. It’s heartening to see athletes hailed as heroes on the field behave just as heroically off it.

But it’s not just the athletes. The fantasy football community came together to raise $11,000 to buy toys for Toys For Tots through an organization called Fantasy Cares. The organization might be a good choice for a portion of your prize pool next season. Besides, the real prize in any fantasy season is watching the last-place finisher sit for the SATs or spend 24 hours in a Waffle House.

⛳️ Slow down, mommy. The PNC Championship is a unique golf event that sees the sport’s stars partnered with a family member in competition. In a largely individual sport, it’s a wholesome week filled with smiles and heartwarming family moments.

Annika Sorenstam and her son, Will, gave us a few of those moments. First, Will brought Annika to tears by nodding to her when asked who his golf idol is. Then, at the event’s conclusion, it was Will’s turn for tears, as he called the tournament the best week of his year and life, citing his gratitude for being able to play with his mom.

As they walked down the 18th fairway, Will implored his mother: “Slow down, Mommy. I want to enjoy this moment.” Doesn’t get any more wholesome than that. Let’s hope Will stays just as sweet through his impending teenage years.