The Union Hotel in Occidental, California has been serving up Italian family style dinners since 1879. We’ve been coming here for decades after our annual Christmas tree cutting. Toward the end of a long evening over dessert our cousin’s mother wanders over to the Grand piano and starts to play the Christmas classics. The sound of White Christmas fills the expansive space. Kids come over to her to watch, as we stand bouncing the newest additions to our ever expanding family on our hips, and……magic.