It's that time of year again when the stores are crazy and your mom is even crazier. Christmas is a staple tradition in billions of homes throughout the world and everyone experiences it differently. One factor that's due cause for differences, is our age. As we all get older the whole holiday season begins to change... So, here's a list of all the little things that are ever so different and how it makes us feel.
1) Thanksgiving
Were there any other kids out there who didn't respect Thanksgiving enough as a kid? I never saw the appeal of anything but dry turkey and mashed potatoes until one day the angel Gabriel himself came down from the heavens and poured gravy and stuffing onto my plate. The day I first tasted my mothers stuffing was a monumental day that I will always be thankful for.
2) Christmas Morning
As a kid, Christmas morning was the one day of the year where it was acceptable to go jump on your parent's bed at the crack of dawn and make them take you downstairs. As young adults that doesn't really fly anymore. I mean, I still run into my mom's room to wake her up, it just doesn't go over quite as well as before.
3) The Big Secret
Oh, the secret. We all know it now and we're worse off for it. You know what I'm talking about.... The big guy. Chris Cringle. The man in red with a belly like a bowl full of jelly. I miss him and his promises of presents in return for being a good kid. With age comes the responsibility of keeping the secret alive, or is you were my cousins, finding the nearest vulnerable child and telling them the worst news of their young life.
4) Giving More
As a little kid you only ever got presents, but as age matures the mind we realize that isn't really how things work. Giving starts to become an attribute of the holidays, and a good one at that. Giving is arguably better than receiving! It's almost like a competition of who can give the best gift, or is that just me. I love to see the reaction people have when the present is REALLY good. And if not, it's always the thought that counts right?
5) New Year's Eve
This marks the end of the holiday season and everyone tends to go out with a bang. The older we get the bigger the bang. Your night tends to go from being babysat by your grandmother to babysitting your drunk friends (or being the babysat again).