Why does Christmas feel different the older we get?
As a kid, you remember the magic and excitement surrounding the holidays. Anxiously awaiting Christmas morning, your imagination ran wild with anticipation. The night before, putting out homemade cookies for Santa, barely being able to fall asleep as you vibrated with excitement. You wake up, run downstairs and find all the presents under the tree, many with your name! You open your presents, and they’re all that you wanted and more. But, what happens when Christmas suddenly isn’t something you experience but something you have to prepare for? As you get older, Christmas morning no longer just arrives magically, there is planning involved. Rather than just setting out cookies for Santa, you have to buy the ingredients, follow some annoying online recipe with a plethora of ads. No longer can you just write your letter to Santa, you have to budget and buy the presents to put under the tree. You realize that there is no more just waking up Christmas morning and the wonder is delivered on a platter. YOU have to create the wonder. YOU have to create the magic. This realization can make Christmas feel a little less enchanted.
As you get older, it is normal to miss the simpler days when you were a child. Although it can be sad knowing that you will never experience Christmas as you once did, being behind the scenes can bring a different sort of enriching emotional experience. For example, your perception of presents changes pretty dramatically. As a kid,you are primarily focused on your wish list and the presents you receive. As an adult, you often experience just as much enjoyment finding a gift you know someone close to you will love as you do receiving a gift yourself. This is a significant emotional shift. The joy around presents becomes more empathic and focused on sharing happy moments. Christmas and the holidays are often criticized for creating an arena of excessive consumerism and the tendency towards overconsumption. However, understanding that gifts are not about the monetary value but the sentimental value is something that comes with maturity. As a kid, you never think about the meaning behind the gifts you receive. As an adult, gift giving becomes more personal instead of simply being a materialistic exchange.
The anticipation and countdown for Christmas morning felt endless when you were a kid. As the days slowly counted down, you impatiently waited all break for the day you could open your presents. However, as you get older, you may start to feel differently, even perhaps wishing Christmas morning could come later rather than sooner. It’s no secret that life often becomes stressful and overwhelming for adults and teens alike. Especially for teens, as Christmas break usually falls right before finals and deadlines. Because of this, Christmas time can start to feel more like a break from life’s stressful responsibilities. It gives people the time to reset and relax from their busy lives, making them appreciate it in a way that wouldn’t be possible as a kid. Instead of the original excitement and anticipation you once felt as a kid, you see Christmas break as a break from reality. And the sooner it arrives, the sooner your break ends.
Traditional scenarios we once followed as children can also give way to new ones. As an adult, one can choose to make your own traditions and create a Christmas that feels much more personalized to you. If someone was raised in a less than happy household, as an adult, they are able to choose the people they spend time with around the holidays and form their own new traditions. This can mean spending time with your favorite friends and family members , resulting in a much more enriching experience for many.
When you become older, school, work, hobbies and responsibilities can make it hard to spend quality time with friends and family. Christmas break gives people the opportunity to be with their loved ones, making memories you wouldn’t normally have time for. Even small things like cooking dinner together and watching a movie together feel meaningful because they are much rarer in a fast-paced world. People realize that Christmas becomes more about the people you’re with and the emotional connections you make, rather than the gifts.
They say that comparison is the thief of joy but it’s hard not to reminisce about those early childhood days and the feeling you would get around the holidays. Beloved childhood memories like staying up late to catch Santa, rushing to the tree in the morning, and setting out cookies at night will always bring about a sense of nostalgia and longing for a more innocent life.
And yet, with age, you are able to experience Christmas in a new, even more meaningful way that gives you a whole different level of appreciation for these special moments with your loved ones. Sure, some of the magic and wonder of Christmas will fade as you get older, but that doesn’t eliminate the joy of the experience. It simply shifts and changes along with you. Connections become more important than presents, anticipation is replaced with relaxation and the holidays take on a whole new meaning. In other words, the magic isn’t truly lost, it just grows and matures as we do.
