I wish everyone in Southwest Michigan a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

I hope you are all able to gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I look forward to reflecting on the past year and a new year full of possibilities.

I encourage all area families to take the weight of the world off your shoulders and enjoy Michigan’s Winter Wonderland. Get outside and try sledding with the kids or building a snowman. These are memories that I cherish the most.

Indeed, the holiday season presents us all with a moment to spend quality time with loved ones and celebrate the true spirit of Christmas.

I am truly blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas with my family, whose love and support give me strength. Being with them is the greatest gift I could ask for.

During this time, my heart is drawn to those who cannot be with their families for Christmas.

The holidays are an especially hard time for those men and women who are serving America overseas. Consider sending a letter or card to a soldier, thanking them for their sacrifice and wishing them a safe return home. It is a simple way to make their holiday a little brighter.

Letters may be mailed to: Blue Star Mothers; P.O. Box 76; Stevensville, MI 49127.

We each have the ability to lift the spirits of those around us. Writing the troops is one way to do this; another way is by helping the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.

If you are able, please join my family and me in making the season brighter for a child with a donation of an unwrapped toy at one of several locations throughout southwest Michigan.

I wish you and your family the very best this Christmas. God Bless you all.

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents southwest Michigan.