It’s around this time of year that I intensely miss being a kid. Every year, Christmastime just seems to grow more stressful and less fun. I’m not a complete scrooge. When Christmas Eve finally arrives and my entire family shows up at my parent’s house, I know I will have a blast. I will finally begin to have fun and enjoy the holidays. There will be no more presents to buy. There will be plenty of wine to drink and food to be eaten. My family knows how to party and Christmas is no different. Until then though, bah humbug.
I believe it’s the period leading up to Christmas that really gets me down. As a kid, I would make a countdown to Christmas made of strips of paper fastened into rings. Each morning, I would jump out of bed and rip off one of the rings. I would count each one even though I knew exactly how many days we had left until the big day. Nowadays, I look at that string of rings and it only looks like one thing.
A noose.
Every day that a ring disappears means one less day for me to find the perfect presents for the ones I love which also means I have one less day to find the money to pay for said presents. I need to decorate the house. I need to mail out Christmas cards (this never ends up happening). I need to get ahead of my work at the office so I can take the needed time off for travel. The noose tightens every day that I don’t get something done. Yesterday, I decided to drink wine instead of wrapping presents. It seemed like a great idea at the time. Bah humbug.
Eventually, time will run out but everything will be finished. I always get it done in the nick of time but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier. I’m still searching for one gift for my niece; the one I know she needs to have. It’s taken so long that I will have to pay over $100 to ship everything across the country to my sister and her family. By now, Christmas feels more like a punishment. Where did the fun go?
What happened to making wish lists and mailing them to Santa?
What happened to shoveling dinner down your throat in world record time so you could get to the presents?
What happened to setting out milk and cookies for Santa? Don’t forget about the reindeer either! Carrots for them.
What happened to staying up all night in the hopes to hear the reindeer’s feet on the roof? I always fell asleep within twenty minutes.
I’ll tell you what happened. I grew up. The big secret was revealed. No Santa. No magic. No more fun.
I know I’m sounding like a giant Scrooge right now. Trust me, I’m not as bad as you might think. On Saturday, I’ll head home to the house I grew up in. All my shopping will be done (hopefully!) and all there will be left to do is drink wine and laugh. I’ll get to see my family. I’ll open presents. I’ll give presents. I’ll have a great time.
But for now, I miss being a kid.
I miss Santa.
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Awesomeness Awaits at Yeah Write!
Arden Ruth 
I miss Santa too–it was such a wonderful belief and I could never quite believe my luck in the fact that there was such a thing as Christmas when I was a kid!
Ugh, I know! It was so much fun. I don’t even remember when I found out the truth. I think I’ve blocked that part of my life in my brain 🙂
I was very old–I knew but would not admit it!
well here’s to hoping that when you get back home the enjoyment will over power the stress. merry christmas!
Same to you! I’m sure it will. It always does. For now though, it sucks! Haha
Thanks! Ha, what!? Your post disclosed none of those feelings.
Sure, you don’t have Santa like you did as a kid. But now you have alcohol! And really, which one is gonna make you happier?
Hmmm – That’s actually a really good point 🙂
I was jumping up and down as much as my kids when our local PBA came down the street with Santa on the back of the fire truck. 🙂
Yay! That’s fun. I wish I still got excited like that. I’m hoping when I have kids that the excitement will come back. OR I’ll just be more stressed 🙂
I was hoping that having the Little Prince around would jump start my Christmas spirit, because the last couple years I’ve been feeling the bah-humbugs too. But, so far, it hasn’t worked. Things seem even more stressful this year, and the spirit that would counteract that stress i nowhere in sight. Maybe next year when he’ll have a better understanding of what is going on then I’ll get a bit of the Christmas magic through his eyes. Fingers crossed, otherwise, I might just cancel the whole thing. Grumpy cat and I will hide ourselves away and drink beer until the stores start bringing out the green stuff next march.
Yeah! Can I come? 🙂
Yes. But, no smiles… just beer, and grumpiness.
I’ll bring my special Christmas grimace 🙂
Fantastic.
We’ve stopped exchanging gifts in my extended family, though we still give something to the youngest kids and grandkids. Instead, we make charitable donations.
Lucky for me, we did the same thing. I only have to buy for my parents, my sister and her family. Probably a good thing too as I don’t think my family would appreciated Top Ramen as a Christmas present!
I also find this time of year stressful, but the kids love it! We dropped the sibling gifts and only do the kids now. That makes it easier. Still, it’s hard. Especially this year with Thanksgiving so late!
I agree! Christmas snuck up on me this year
I feel ya on this. I don’t necessarily find Christmas stressful but there is a certain element of melancholy to it and a longing for things as they used to be…. even though “used to be” was like 15 years ago. Just focus on that wine, it’s coming for you!
Yes!! WINE! 🙂
One of the great things about being a parent is that you get to re-live that whole experience through your kids. And I don’t just mean by taking their toys, which are way cooler than the steel-wheel skates I nearly killed myself on. No, I mean because it gives you an excuse to act like a kid again with your own kids. Not that I need an excuse for that. Unless I’m in front of a judge…
Hah! I wonder if I could rent a child for the holidays until I have my own. 🙂
You can have one of mine. Ha! Just kidding! I LOVE my kids!
(seriously, call me later and we can arrange something…)
Great post. I’ve been feeling a lot like this lately, too. I miss the days when all the Christmas-y things would just happen: the candy bowls would refill themselves, the decorations would appear, and all I had to worry about was opening my presents. Actually making Christmas happen takes an awful lot of work.
Right? I had no idea as a kid all the crap my parents did for me. Now, I have to do it myself? That’s just not right 🙂
I find myself missing childhood a lot during the holiday season, too…. in some ways.
In others, I’m just sorta glad that I can skip out on all of the parts that I find stressful.
I wish I could skip out. I haven’t figured out a way to do that yet! 🙂
I think a lot of my ability to just skip out has to do with the fact that my family doesn’t really do much in the way of gift giving and big family gatherings anymore.
Christmas Day doesn’t end up being really central to my celebrations anymore. I do a lot more with friends these days, and more often than not those events aren’t Christmas Day because they’re doing family things.
Things change so fast, I know. I was just thinking of this same thing the other day. Christmas was WAY more fun when I was a kid. I’m having fun being Santa for my kids now but it still is stressful. That’s for sure.
I don’t even have kids yet and I’m stressed! I think I need more wine 🙂
My husband and I were just talking about this, how Christmas doesn’t feel magical anymore. When I told my mom about it, she said that’s normal, and it’ll get better when we have kids.
Great. Kids. So not ready for that.
I know! I was just telling someone that I wish I could just rent a child over Christmas so I could really get into the spirit of the holidays!
Hmmm — Perhaps I could start a new business 🙂
Hell, I’d go back to being a kid just because working and paying bills sucks ass.
YES! I wish I’d appreciated all the free time I had as a kid a little more!
Me, too.
Christmas started being so much fun again when we had children. But children do out grow Santa too. I hope that we can begin to focus on helping others in need as a family. My daughter thinks this idea is for the birds.
Haha! That’s a great idea though 🙂