"Dad, you're so cringe.
"Yes, my young bloke has reached the age where I'm increasingly embarrassing.
Yes, I said increasingly.
He's been suspecting it for a few years.
I'm becoming my father – I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of what I wear, how loudly I sing in public just for the hell of it, and I am the possessor and teller of very questionable Dad jokes.
But he's also young enough to be excitedly expecting a visit from Santa.
Seeing the wonder of Christmas through a kid's eyes is truly one of life's absolute joys.
We're too serious, too often.
We don't have enough fun.
Seeing the world, and its joys, possibilities and wonders, with childlike enthusiasm truly is its own reward.
Tomorrow morning, he'll wake up too early, see if Santa has drunk the beer he'll leave out, and if the reindeer have munched on the carrots.
Then he'll check to see if Santa has left him anything under the tree
.If you could bottle the energy and joy of kids on Christmas morning, you could power the world for decades.
And I reckon kids have got it right.
Life is, for most of us, most of the time, wonderful.
I hope you enjoy some Christmas spirit tomorrow, and over the next week or so.
And if this Christmas is going to be sad for you, because you're doing it tough, or missing absent friends or family, I hope the day isn't too rough for you.
I hope you have memories of better times, and hopes of better times ahead. And I hope those better times return, quickly.
As Australians, we truly are incredibly lucky. In life's 'ovarian lottery', those of us born here, or who have had the good fortune to arrive here, are jackpot winners.
I have no investing message, today.
Just a message of thanks, of hope, and of goodwill.
And speaking of being thankful, I want to pass on our thanks and appreciation to every single Motley Fool member and reader.
The Motley Fool is here because our founders believed finance could be done better. And our team is here because they share that belief; and that hard work can result in quality advice, useful education and support for our many, many members and readers.
But, because our business model relies on membership, we don't get paid by anyone else except our members. You'd better believe that aligns our interests with yours. And it focuses the mind.
And it means that, without you, we don't have a business, and I (and the team) go and get another job.
So we truly appreciate the trust you place in us. The loyalty you show us. And we are dedicated to being responsible stewards of that loyalty, and to continually deserving that trust.
2022 wasn't a great year for most investors, including us.
These sorts of years are never fun. But history reminds us that, even though it's easy to forget sometimes, the market does tend to fall about one year in three, on average.
And yet, over the long term, it has still created extraordinary wealth.
Our challenge – yours and our team's – is to keep that perspective. To not be scared out of investing. To not give up in the tough times.
Because to benefit from the good times, you have to be in the arena.
I hope you've been able to keep the faith. I hope you'll keep the faith in 2023, whatever next year brings.
And I hope that you'll still be investing when the better times return. After all, as they say, the money isn't made in the buying, or the selling… but in the waiting.
So thank you for waiting, with us.
Thank you for reading these articles, for being a part of our services, and for being part of the ongoing conversation as we navigate the market together.
Thank you from me. And from all of the team here at The Motley Fool.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas (and, if that's not your cultural tradition, a wonderful festive season).
We hope you have a safe and enjoyable break, if you're getting one.
And thank you to those of you who will be working tomorrow and over the break. Thank you to the members of our armed forces. Of our emergency services. Our doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. And to the many others who keep the wheels turning in one way or another while the rest of us get a break.
We hope 2023 is a wonderful year.
And now, back to where we started. The 'cringe' bit.
Back in 2012, I started an annual tradition of rewording (some would say 'mangling') a Christmas song.
So. Cringe.
But I'm a Dad. Cringe is my thing.
Merry Christmas!
*****
Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul
With a long-term view and a share or two
He stuck firmly to his goal
Frosty the Snowman
Should just sell his shares, they say
'The market's low, Frosty, don't you know
Why not wait for a better day?'
But he knew there was some magic
In investing that was sound
For when he just ploughed on instead
The returns they came around
Oh, Frosty the Snowman
Was as cool as he could be
And the children say he didn't trade by day
Because patience was the key
Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul
With a long-term view and a share or two
He stuck firmly to his goal
Frosty the Snowman
Should just sell his shares, they say
'The market's low, Frosty, don't you know
Why not wait for a better day?
He knew there was some magic
In being diversified all-round
And he just added calmly when
The market danced around
Frosty the Snowman
Knew the falls did hurt that day
But he said, "Let's buy, before the market's high
We'll make more dough that way"
Frosty the Snowman
Didn't didn't turn his face away
He just made good buys, saying, "Don't you cry
We'll look back and smile some day!"
*****
Merry Christmas, fellow Fools!
