Christmas is nearly upon us, and it will be a time of giving and receiving.

It can also be a time of memories of Christmases past. Most of those memories may be a bit foggy, but we cherish the ones that are still somewhat clear.

For me, the Christmas’ landscape has changed, and not totally for the better. It’s true that we can’t totally recapture the Christmases of our youth, but we shouldn’t let them slip away.

We live in a time where keeping Christmas traditions from our youth has tended to become increasingly extinct. There are some of you who still strive to keep those special moments alive, and that’s a good thing.

It was a simpler time back in the 1950s — or even before — through the ’80s, and families tended to be within a reasonable driving distance of each other. Maintaining a sense of family, though, was the key.

Remember the times when you went to the malls to shop for your gifts, and there was the backdrop of all the classic Christmas songs in the background? Despite the line waiting and crowding situations, you had a good feeling about the whole situation and probably spent more than you should have.

I always made a full day of lunch and some sweet snacks — always a Cinnabon if possible — with my daughter. It always was anticipated, and it was fun and memorable in some way.

Within the closing weeks, you probably heard too much of Andy Williams and Perry Como’s crooning, but it still was a perfect backdrop. This was the time when dad or mom would usually load the record player with holiday albums, or the eight-track player did the job.

As a future sports writer, I liked watching the Saturday NFL games on TV in the fabled “audio-visual departments.” You walked into a few stores to check on the updates.

Now, we simply sit with our laptop and mainly order from Amazon and other outlets, waiting for that package to arrive roughly 95% in a timely fashion.

My shopping list included my immediate family and my closest aunts. With them, I would always buy them one of those items you saw on TV and later found in the stores.

Whether it was a specialty mop, a Pyrex bowl, a Ginsu knife set, it thrilled me to buy and wrap a gift for them, even though in reality they really didn’t need it.

Over the last 20 years, picking someone’s name for a gift exchange became a popular format, but that soon dwindled and even fizzled in some family circles.

On Christmas Eve, and being a Catholic, attending midnight Mass was neat, and it gave me a warm feeling being there to officially begin Christmas. A bigger deal was being an altar server in my youth and later an usher, usually in front of a packed church.

Whatever service you attended, the dress code was formal and the pre-service mood was silent. In the current setting, it’s customary to wear jeans and the pre-service mood is comparable to a coffee klatch

There also was spending a traditional German Christmas Eve with my father’s parents, who had a menu filled with ancestral treats.

Through high school, Christmas morning brought a busy schedule to visit the grandparents and aunts and uncles. I couldn’t wait to get out the door to give my presents and get mine as well. Once I walked in the door, I was filled with even more joy.

Traveling through the snow was always an adventure, and you never felt any danger. Those chains on the snow tires really helped make the rides easier.

In your youth, you couldn’t wait until late afternoon or evening on Christmas to try all your gifts.

A week later came New Year’s Day, and we had everyone over for the customary pork and sauerkraut dinner for a prosperous year ahead in many ways. My mother celebrated her birthday that day by making dinner for everyone, and she truly enjoyed it.

Another highlight was watching all of the bowl games, and playing in the annual family pinochle game.

Those were the days when the sense of family with Christmas and New Year’s Day felt complete. Unfortunately, many of our loved ones have left us.

I could go on, but you get the point.

Yes, we live in a transit time, where getting everyone together for a holiday can be difficult. Work obligations and long-distance travel can make it challenging.

Family gatherings today can be held via FaceTime or through a cellphone video. In many cases, the religious factor has diminished from the picture.

In the coming days, we can still remember those days from our Christmases as a youth and reflect about how and why we did things. It shouldn’t just be an easy conversation piece to kill some time.

Instead, we can rehash our memories and implement and build on them in our own current lives. Think about how they can enhance your current domestic status.

We also should keep in mind the baby in the manger born over 2,000 years ago, and why we are here. As Linus said to Charlie Brown, “that’s what Christmas is all about.”

Whatever the situation, family should still be at the forefront in the coming days, and you can still rekindle the memories. And you can still hear Williams and Como with their timeless classics.

Enjoy the holidays!