Christmas was, is, and always will be a special time of year. Spending time with family, pretty lights all over town, and eating amazing dinners will always be important parts of Christmas you look forward to. Around the first time you realize just how much Christmas is changing is around your first year of college. Instead of spending time with your family driving around town to see the lights, shopping for gifts for your parents with your siblings, and decorating the tree with your family, you're in a dorm alone cramming for seven finals. Christmas is still a happy, fun, and special time of the year for you and is still as amazing as it's always been, but it's just different. It's still awesome, just different.

1. You care more about who you’re with rather than what’re you're getting.

As you’ve gotten older you’ve realized it’s less about what you’re unwrapping, and more about who you’re unwrapping it with. Seeing your cousins that you only get to see a few times a year is the part that you look forward to the most. Although receiving gifts still is and will always be fun, it’s now more fun to give the people you love gifts. Your favorite part of the day is watching someone you love open a gift they love and become happy from it.

2. No part of you wants to wake up early.

As a child, waking up after 7:30 to open presents was unheard of. As soon as your eyes opened, it was time for the whole family to wake up and open presents. If the sun was already up, you were behind schedule. Now you wake up when you wake up. The rush and urgency is no longer there. Now if anyone tried to come into your room before the sun was up to wake you up, you would laugh at them and then go back to bed for a few hours.

3. Practical gifts are your favorite to receive.

Gifts that you used to hate getting as a child are now your favorite to get. As a kid, if you opened anything practical, you were 100% unpleased. Now your Christmas list consists of things such as: fuzzy socks, a crock pot, fancy electric toothbrush, etc. Socks and a toaster get you more excited than anything else under the tree. Opening a blender feels like hitting the lottery to you. If it isn't something that you will get real use out of, you aren't too excited about it.

4. Snow is no longer fun.

Sure, it’s pretty. But is it enjoyable? NO. Seeing snow just reminds you of how hard it’s gonna be to drive anywhere, and how cold you’re going to be carrying the fifteen presents you bought for your family inside from the car in the cold. Snow is only something you enjoy while watching it through the window while sitting on your warm couch.

5. Buying gifts gets more and more expensive every year.

When you were younger, not much was expected from you. If you showed up with a handmade bracelet and a smile on your face, everyone was happy. Now you're apart of the adult gift exchange, which means you're in charge of getting a real life adult gift on top of all of the other gifts you're getting for people. While you enjoy picking out things for the people you love, your bank account does not. Are candy necklaces and homemade cards still an acceptable gift for everyone in the family?