During Sunday service, an older lady sang a solo. As she sang, I watched her closely. Happiness and joy radiated from her face, voice, and body. She meant every word. She felt every word. She believed every word. She made her own happy.

My son bounded into the living room wearing only his boxers, toting my wedding album. He climbed into my lap and asked about all the people in the pictures. We laughed and smiled as I went through all my bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and grandparents who have changed a lot over the last twenty years. When we finished, he skipped away, saying, “I’m putting up the Mama, Dada smoochy, smoochy book now.” Once he returned, he danced around and sang Christmas songs. He made his own happy.

Our church group visited the nursing home Sunday afternoon for caroling. As I prepared to leave, rain on the tin roof beckoned me to take a much-needed nap. My head pounded. Caroling wasn’t what I wanted to do. But I put on my Christmas earrings and my Santa hat and went anyway. I forced a smile in the beginning and played the part, but after a while, I truly began to enjoy myself. Being with the residents at the nursing home, hearing them sing, watching their faces light up as the children delivered cards and ornaments—all of these warmed my heart. I made my own happy.

This holiday season brings so many wonderful reasons to celebrate, be happy, and have joy. But it can also highlight loneliness, brokenness, and grief. Each new day, we have a choice. We can choose to mope and be in our sad emotions, or we can go against what we feel and choose our own happy.

Wear a Santa hat to the grocery store. Put jingle bells on your shoestrings. Roll down your windows at the red lights and sing Christmas music joyously. Talk to your less than friendly neighbors and invite them over for cookies and cocoa. Change your normal headband to reindeer antlers and wear a large red clown nose. Do something even when you don’t like it.

Make your own happy this holiday.