When I was a kid, I felt the magic of the holiday season as soon as December 1st came around. I absolutely loved hearing Christmas music everywhere I went and getting lost in the snowy atmosphere. My favorite part of the season (besides opening presents, of course) was always decorating— especially the Christmas tree. My family always had enough ornaments to completely cover two trees and plenty of other novelties (including an awesome outdoor lights display!) that made our house really feel like a Christmas wonderland.
As I got older, though, the wonder of the holiday season seemed to diminish with every passing year. Now, the holidays mean scrambling to get everyone Christmas presents on time and decorating feels more like a chore than anything. It’s impossible to preserve that feeling from my childhood, but I’ve found that there are some things I can do to bring at least a little of it back:
1. Holiday drinks
There’s nothing like curling up with a warm drink to keep out the freezing weather during this time of year. You can’t go wrong with something classic and simple like hot chocolate. Tea is another good option. Although there’s nothing inherently Christmassy about tea, there are a lot of different holiday flavors you can try. There’s also coffee! For SU students, Starbucks and its holiday-themed menu is just a short walk away.
2. Christmas shopping
I complain a lot about Christmas shopping. I never know what to get, so I ask my loved ones what they want, and they give me ridiculous suggestions like “a Hitachi vibrator” or “The Communist Manifesto” because they usually don’t even know what they want. However, when I really get into my holiday shopping, it makes the season feel more real. Once I’m finally able to pick things out I get excited about wrapping presents and seeing my friends open them.
3. Romanticize it a little bit
Since you’re technically an adult, you might feel silly for doing little things like decorating your dorm with Christmas lights and stockings, or blasting Christmas music, or playing out in the snow. But if doing little things like this during the holiday season makes you happy, you shouldn’t feel ashamed about it, because there’s nothing wrong with letting yourself be a kid again