I think the best Christmas present this year came from Mother Nature.

In recent years we’ve endured way too many green Christmases, including the record-breaking-and-oh-so-depressing 70-degree Christmas Eve in 2015.

But this year, we had full-on winter for Christmas week, and as a result, my son-in-law from Spain got a winter-immersion treatment.

We went tubing in Crandall Park on Dec. 22. Yup, it was cold, but memories were made, including me suggesting he head toward the tennis backboard resulting in a funny crash.

I think it was about 10 degrees and Miguel, Migs to us, said it was the coldest temperature he’s ever been in.

Good thing I loaned him my vintage green Northerner boots for warmth and style.

On Dec. 26, we went skiing (he snowboards) at West Mountain, where the conditions were insanely good for this time of year.

Yes, we skied and rode the chair through snow guns, but any skier around here knows that when it’s cold early in the season, you make snow.

Period.

And it was cold enough that the guns actually provided a few early season powder turns.

Ironically, Miguel borrowed a snowboard from a friend of mine that had a Coors Light theme.

I guess Coors Light is pretty rare in Spain (I know, right?), and it’s become his beer of choice when he visits. So, he was fired up to basically be sponsoring the brand before the board even touched down on the hill.

After a couple runs, and a snowboard adjustment, we ran into my skiing buddy Jeff Tabor and former news anchor Phil Bayly. We made a couple runs with them and ended up chatting over coffee in the lodge during a break. Bayly was talking about his murder mystery book series and Tabor, the unofficial West Mountain photographer, chatted with me about Nordic ski options. He was also kind enough to snap a neat shot of Miguel and I at the top.

But Mother Nature-fueled winter activities weren’t relegated to sledding and skiing.

On Dec. 27, we headed to a friend’s place on Hadlock Pond for some pond skating.

Miguel had never been on skates but within an hour, he was not only making laps, he soon found himself as a goalie during a three-on-three hockey battle.  

He was being praised for some nice saves, with one guy telling him something like he had “goalie instincts.”  He loved that. He’s a natural athlete who still plays men’s league soccer and works as a golf teaching pro in Spain.

I did laps around the freshly shoveled rink and it felt so nice to be back on skates.

Last year Crandall Pond never froze enough to skate on, so I went a year without pond skating and it was a void.

Some seasons, pond skating doesn’t start for weeks. For sledding, you sometimes wait even longer depending on the winter.

He got the full-monte sledding-skiing-skating winter experience in a week – in December!

And perhaps it was just what he needed. I have always loved winter fun with my girls, but adding Migs to the mix was an added bonus.

You see, he almost didn’t make the trip.

He’d been struggling with some mental health issues that weeks earlier likely would have sidelined him from this trip. I feel ok sharing this, because he’s very open about it and is feeling better.

On Dec. 28, hours before he was to board a train to beginning the journey back to Spain, I asked him if the week was “good for his brain.”

He quickly said yes, and I believe him. He laughed a lot this week. He had a sparkle in his eye. And watching him run around and roll in the snow was more evidence.

In addition to the winter experience, he got to see my folks for a Christmas dinner that ended with us singing songs around the dinner table – something that’s never happened!

He got to see his wife, Kirsti, perform tunes at Sunnyside Par 3 to a packed room of friends.

And he got a magical white Christmas, something that just doesn’t happen where he lives.

The last time he saw it snow near his home in southern Spain, he was 9.

What he didn’t get to do, however, was make a snowman. It was too cold and the snow wouldn’t pack, despite several attempts.

Until minutes before he left.

As I was working on this, Kirsti and Miguel were coming back from walking the dog. Then I hear my wife yell to me that they were making a snowman – two of them actually!

“A father and son,” he said.

By mid-afternoon, I was bidding farewell to them and my wife shuttled them to the train station (I picked them up a week ago)

They were heading with my younger daughter, Sarah, to her home in Brooklyn. Kirsti and Miguel head back to Spain tomorrow.

I’m feeling fulfilled and thankful for a week of winter amazingness and family bonding. And I hope this unique early winter wonderland Miguel enjoyed here is a catalyst for continued improvement.

I’d also love to be in Spain as he’s scrolling through pictures and videos describing his adventure to friends. I hope that sparkle stays.