As holidays are approaching, learn to appreciate Christmas experiences

Our View

Take yourself back into the mindset of a young child during the holiday season.

Without a doubt, Christmas was one of the most exhilarating parts of the year for many of us growing up. Aside the fact that we received gifts, Christmas seemed much less like a holiday to us and more like entering a new, magical world.

Christmas was a world where there was a man who lived in the North Pole with his elves, and he delivered presents on his sleigh; where there was festive music and decorations everywhere we went; where we could immerse ourselves in memory-making times with our loved ones.

However, as we all grow into adults, our attitude towards Christmas seems to completely shift around. We start to see how commercialized Christmas has become over the years and how we feel so much pressure to spend money on buying the right gift. If anything, Christmas is nothing but a huge burden.

This type of thinking makes most of us forget why this holiday has so much anticipation in the first place.

When you first unwrapped that one toy that you’d wanted for weeks, was that really your fondest Christmas memory?

What about when the time you helped your grandmother make Christmas cookies for your family and they were all impressed over how you decorated them? What about the time when you gathered with members of your church and you all sang Christmas carols together? What about the time you visited Santa Claus at the mall, and you could finally sit on his lap without bursting into tears?

These types of memories still remain with us today because they provided us with something that gifts could never give us. They all gave us experiences.

The reason we became so excited for Christmas as children is because we knew it would give us lasting experiences. We don’t have the same type of expectancy since we’re focused on so many other things, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have those same type of experiences again.

Instead of fretting over presents, take a moment to emerge yourself into the Christmas atmosphere and remember what gave you so much joy. Even something as simple as spending quality time with your friends and family on Christmas Day is enough to create wonderful experiences. Sometimes, it’s also the best gift that you can give.

After growing up, you immediately stop believing in the Christmas magic such as Santa Claus or flying reindeer, but once you look beyond the materialistic side of Christmas, you finally realize that the magic you felt in the past never really went away.