Waking up

Although most of us are almost into our 20's, we still get up way earlier than we would on a normal Sunday because our excitement still cannot be contained. The thought of how wonderful the day is going to be fills our minds.

Waking up your parents

This is a little bit of a harder task because they think that by now that would have been able to sleep past 6 am on Christmas morning…well they thought wrong.

Going downstairs

Even though you know it was not Santa that placed those gifts under the tree and that each year the amount of presents you receives gets smaller, it is still hard not being even a little bit excited.

Opening gifts

I think we can all say that this is one of the best parts of the entire day. Seeing all of these things that you would have never bought for yourself (because you are a broke college student) all right in front of your eyes.

Family arrives

After the crazy morning rush, the next round begins and it is a mixture of being overwhelmed and excited at the same time. Within ten minutes, forty family members show up to your house and you don’t even know where to begin. You have to go around and talk to everyone, there’s wrapping paper everywhere, and there’s also the occasional sound of something being knocked over and broken in the background.

The main event

Through the loud sound of laughter and yearly stories, everyone somehow sits down and eats together. Whether were all scattered throughout the house because we do not fit at once, it still gives everyone a moment to sit back and reflect on how lucky they are. This is what makes it all worth it.

Finally, sleep

As groups of people trickle out a few at a time, the day slowly comes to an end. You didn’t realize how fast it flies by through all of the chaos and fun. You feel a rush of sadness when realizing that this will not happen again for another year, but you also think about how tired you are from being up at 6 am and cannot be that mad about going to bed a little early.