Written by: Reah R. Hagues Special Guest Writer and Executive Contributor
Adulthood brings many things we did not have as a child including stress, financial strain, trauma, and grief. Our worldviews may have skewed, our focus may have become financial, and our vision of Christmas may no longer involve holiday cheer. Here are five tips to enjoy Christmas like a kid again!
The “what”
Let’s face it, even the Christmasiest of Christmas lovers go through Christmas-time fatigue at times. As adults, we have usually outgrown the innocent, shielded, untainted cheer that children naturally have. However, it is possible that just for the two to four weeks most people celebrate Christmas during (unless you are like me and go Christmas crazy starting the day after Thanksgiving). Ask yourself these questions: Is this OR why is it important to me? What has changed for me? Why did that change? What would make this Christmas the perfect experience?
The “why”
When I was a kid we got together on Christmas Eve with my mother’s family and Christmas day with my father’s. My mother’s family would get together and open gifts, eat, and play outside. On Christmas day, my father’s family would get together to open gifts and eat, then my grandparents took my sister, our cousins, and I riding around their main road to look at all the decorated houses. Togetherness, family time, and Christmas lights were the traditions and I carry these same traditions with my own children. Although there was fighting, financial strain, and a handful of other chaotic things going on through the year, no one focused on it during those two days. Children experience Christmas as they wish it were if their atmosphere is unhealthy and as it is if their atmosphere is where they desire it to be. If a child’s atmosphere is not filled with happy, celebratory, exciting, holiday fun; unlike us adults, they will typically find a way to dream up the atmosphere they desire. Now, not all families celebrate the holidays and not every child has a family. As adults, we have the ability to select ours and make our own atmosphere even when ours is not the best. This gives this the ability to change our atmosphere in a way that even the merriest of children cannot. However, it seems that as adults we spend more time losing sight of the magic that is Christmas. Whether you celebrate Christmas for Jesus, Santa, or just family togetherness if you have lost the magic that is Christmas there are five steps you can take to get it back!
The “how”
Step one: Identify the problem. Is your Christmas fatigue due to loss, grief, financial strain, emotional stress, lifestyle change, religious belief/lack of, or even just that the atmosphere around you has changed? Identifying the problem is always the first step to solving it!
Step two: Visit your “problem” area. If the are is finance, consider budgeting to accommodate holiday events/celebrations. If the area is emotional stress, consider consulting a therapist during the holiday season as routine. A large majority of people experience seasonal depression, and the root may be deeper than just missing old traditions. If the area is inability to travel, consider planning a get together at a place accessible to you, even if it changes the “traditional” holiday plan(s). Whichever area your problem is in, focus on catering to that specific area.
Step three: Identify the desired result. What do you want Christmas to be to you again? Maybe your desire is to focus more on Jesus’ birth, maybe it is to give your children the experience you had during your own childhood. Identifying your desired result.
Step four: Find your happy place. Where does this change start for you? Maybe it is planning a get together, planning you time, planning a family ride around the neighborhood to look at lights, or even just watching a classis Christmas movie. Communicate to others your desire and set that happy place in motion!
Step five: Enjoy it! Put the steps in place to make this Christmas one you had or desired as a kid! Carve out time for family get togethers, take needed time off for work (I promise it will still be standing when you return). Visit your childhood neighborhood or a well decorated neighborhood at sundown and soak in the magical scenery. Focus on the time being spent in the moment, what it meant to you ask a kid, and what it means to you now!
Summary
Christmas is the season for giving, family, and celebration. How you enjoy the season may have changed over the years and that is perfectly okay! What the season means to you can change over time due to finances, loss, change in beliefs, or uncontrolled change in traditions altogether. By identifying the problem, visiting the problem area, identifying the desired result, finding your happy place, and enjoying it you can regain your childlike Christmas experience again. Merry Christmas!
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Reah R. Hagues, Special Guest Writer and Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Reah is a wife to Quintin and a mother to 5 humans and 3 pets. She is the daughter of Kim (or Ma to her), and big sister to Raven. Reah has earned multiple degrees including a Bachelor's degree in Christian studies, Master's degree in Psychology, Master's degree in Holistic Mental Health and Wellness (with emphasis on family dynamics), and a Master's level certification in Life Coaching.
