When I was a little kid, Christmas was this magical day that I would start counting down to on December 1st. I'd get butterflies whenever I thought about it. I would love going with my family to pick out a tree and then spending all day decorating it. Helping my mom with bake cookies and wrap presents was always a highlight to me. Everything about Christmas just used to be so exciting, so care-free, and just so, happy.

But it's just not like that anymore.

Christmas is still magical and I still love it, but it's lost some of its lusters. If I'm being honest, I think the downfall began when I found out Santa wasn't real. When I was a child, the part of Christmas that I was most excited for was seeing what Santa brought me. And Santa used to be a big deal in my house. My mom would make "reindeer food" (which usually just consisted of sugar and glitter) and let me sprinkle it all over the grass. It was such a big deal to me when I got to pick out the cookies we were going to leave for him. When I found out Santa wasn't real, all of that went away. I lost so many traditions.

The older you get, the more responsibilities involved with the holiday are placed on you. It becomes more stressful because now you're the one buying everyone gifts, and decorating. All of those things are enjoyable, but there's still a lot of pressure that comes with it. Plus, the older you get, the most conscious you are about money and when you're a full-time college student who isn't working or is only working part-time, funds are tight. You don't have even half the money you need to get people the gifts that they deserve.

I've also noticed that the older I've gotten and the older my family has gotten, the less effort they put into Christmas. I can't blame them for that, though. They just aren't able to do the things they used to, financially and physically. The number of parties has significantly decreased. The number of decorations has also decreased. There is just an obvious difference.

Now, that doesn't mean that Christmas isn't special anymore, because it is. I still cherish every moment with my family and all the joy that comes from that. I still get chills when I go to church. It's just different...but that's not necessarily a bad thing.