Christmas from childhood to adulthood
Through the years, many BSM students have noticed a difference between their perceptions of Christmas as children and now.
Memories of Christmases past are painted with childhood memories of magical excitement; when not believing in Santa was unheard of, and you could always get exactly what you wanted. Now, as a high-schooler, Christmas is a time to relax for two weeks before the countdown to finals begins.
The worst possible present as a child was–without a doubt–clothes, especially socks. Every little girl asked for something along the lines of an American Girl Doll and every boy wanted the latest and greatest gaming system. As the years go on it seems like there’s less and less to ask for. “It’s harder to come up with what I want for Christmas. But as a child it was the easiest thing ever I’d make my list months in advance so I could have enough time to convince my parents why I needed everything on that list,” senior Rachel Folkestad said.
Back then, the anticipation of opening presents was much bigger. Kids have no idea what could be in box. But now, some find it more exciting to see people’s reactions to their presents and they make it more about family than material gifts. “Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, and now being older, it brings me pure joy to be around people I love and giving gifts is a lot more exciting to me now then it was back then,” said junior Ashlyn Virginia.
More responsibilities and a little bit of poor time management leaves high school students with less opportunities to participate in Christmas traditions. “There’s not enough time to take full advantage of the break as you get older. Homework, act prep, sports, and studying for finals occupy most of my time. The little time I have to spare I spend with my friends and not getting in the Christmas spirit,” junior Sydney Ryan said.
Other high school students, reminisce on the days when school was put on pause to make time for Christmas crafts and parties. Now, the days leading up to Christmas break are filled with tests and stress. “It comes up too fast because I’m a lot busier than I was as a child so it seems like I’m unprepared for it and it lost its sense of relaxation and excitement for Christmas. Also, my parents get less into it as I get older. Traditions are being broken and presents aren’t as much as a secret anymore,” senior Erin Krotz said.
In an anonymous poll, a large majority of students said the biggest difference between Christmas as a kid and now was believing in Santa. So to really get a feel for how different Christmas is now, I decided to visit Santa. Yes, as a seventeen year old I decided to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what I want for Christmas. If you’re curious I asked for good grades. Surprisingly I did not many strange or dirty looks, many people thought of it as normal. This maybe because I do look younger than my age. Santa even asked if I was in 9th grade. He was shocked to find out that I’m really a senior in high school. I told him that I am thinking of attending Creighton University in the fall and he mentioned that he is an alum of Creighton. So new found fact, Kris Kringle went to Creighton University.
No matter if your Christmas is full of childlike excitement or a great sense of family being brought together to celebrate, make it memorable.
Grandma T. McCamley • Dec 19, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Great article Bridget. Having know you for 17 years you nailed. it. It is about watching the pleasure people get from their gifts, ( even if they fake it). Merry Christmas. Love, Grandma T