Just take a quick second to think back to Christmas in the 2000s. Most of you were waking up early to see what was left for you, writing letters to Santa, and of course shaking all the presents before anyone came downstairs. Now flash-forward to where you are now. You’re still secretly that child inside, just as excited, but most of the rituals of this day have changed. You’ve gone from a handwritten Christmas list to sending emails to your parents of links to the new electronics you must have, and you’ve gone from watching a Christmas movie every night of December to just causally watching if you happen to come across one. Christmas time has and will always be special but will never be the same as when you were younger, so to reflect I wanted to look at the differences of Christmas then and now:

Christmas Eve

Then:

Picking what cookies to put on a plate was a struggle; wondering if Santa preferred chocolate chip over sugar was a big decision that had to be made by you and your siblings -- but most importantly, you.

After all that excitement was done, it was almost impossible to go to bed, and mom saying “if you don’t go to sleep Santa won’t come” kept playing over in your head as you tossed and turned trying to fall asleep. That night felt like the longest one ever!

Now:

Forget Santa. You didn’t have dessert yet and those chocolate chip cookies look amazing; a few wouldn’t hurt you. I mean, why put out cookies when you’re just as willing to eat them.

Wow, 10 o’clock rolls around and you’re more than excited to put on pajamas and hit the hay, falling asleep almost instantly.

Christmas Morning

Then:

Alarm rings at 6:30 a.m.; you jump out of bed and go knock on your parents' door to wake them up for presents. If you were like me, you’d even jump on the bed to ensure that they would wake up. Groggily you pull them out of bed and down the stairs before they can even get coffee in their systems.

Now:

You prefer sleeping past 9 and get up to check your social media then finally head downstairs for coffee and breakfast with your family before opening up the presents.

Opening Presents

Then:

Ripping through paper not even worrying about others in the room was such a thrill. Until you came across a package of socks and other “boring things” that you paid no mind to. The Barbie and Bratz Dolls had to be opened right away so you could play.

Now:

Now you take turns between your parents and siblings, watching what everyone got and taking pictures. You’re more than thrilled now to receive those socks and underwear in your stocking because you’ve been running low and they are expensive these days.

Attending Church

Then:

As a kid, you sat impatiently waiting in the pew wondering how much longer until Communion, and you couldn’t wait to get out of there and go play with your new toys.

Now:

OK, so maybe you still count down the time till Communion, but at least now you can sit and think about how grateful you are and what mom’s cooking for dinner.

Years may have passed and some traditions have faded, but in most cases Christmas is still your favorite holiday regardless of how you celebrate it. The traditions I had as a child are some that I will cherish forever. and I can’t wait for Christmas in 20 years when my kids are knocking at my door at 6 a.m. because they are just as excited as I was at their age. To everyone reading, have a great holiday season and a Happy and Healthy New Year!