For Christmas every year, I head to my family's house in Mentor, Ohio (about 20 miles east of Cleveland) where I grew up before dashing off to the University of Notre Dame, then to New York and Los Angeles, my co-homes today. We lost mom four years ago and miss her much, but dear ole dad — call him Frank — continues to hold forth back at the homefront over his extended brood, which also includes my sister Diane and her kids (Judy, Dennis and Keith) plus my brother Mike.

Christmas isn't official until dad bursts into his rendition of Bing Crosby performing his immortal "White Christmas," a highlight of our holidays, which I'd like to share with you now just like I did last Yuletide. GATHER 'ROUND AND CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO DAD'S CAN'T-MISS, CLASSIC RENDITION OF "WHITE CHRISTMAS"! (NOTE: You may need to hold down your computer's Control key and wait for a short spell while the MP3 file downloads.)

(Photos: Delta Records/ Judy Gregory)