As Christmas Day gets closer and closer, I can't help but feel this weird sense of nostalgia mixed with pure grumpiness. My brother and I sat down and recalled every great holiday memory and noticed the significance of those moments grew weaker as the years passed. Our young and naive minds made the holidays this magical month of family time and Christmas cheer and as we grew up, we lost sight of those things. Here are 7 reasons why that might be:

We stop counting down days and start counting how many gifts we have to buy for others.

The spirit for traditions starts to wear off, but only until you have your own family to start traditions for.

Because you are an “adult”, you are responsible for bringing a dish to the family gatherings and no, you can not claim your parents dish as your own.

If you are now married, splitting time between families can be daunting.

You don’t get the big presents anymore. As a kid, a karaoke machine or Easy Bake Oven were all the rage, but now you are content with asking for the necessities: socks, clothes, rent money, ect.

Traveling home during peak flight season can be a hassle. Chances are as a young adult, you live away from home and trying to schedule flights during the absolute busiest time of the year can leave you questioning if going home is worth it. (but then you remember the possibility of new socks and it's definitely worth it).

You are now cornered and questioned by every adult relative. As a kid, you were left alone to play with you toys and eat at the kids table. Now, everyone wants to know about school and why you’re still single.

Even with these "adult" drawbacks, one major reason for the bitterness during the holidays stems from losing sight of the real reason for Christmas. As kids, we are fed ideas of gifts and Santa and magic reindeer. We would see wooden Nativity scenes tell the same story over and over, but with all the supplemental celebrations going on it was hard to feel that same joy for the birth of our own Lord, Jesus Christ.

As an adult, that has become even more evident that the birth of our Lord should be the basis of our joy, not only on Christmas but everyday. Anything else is just a bonus. This makes visiting the families, dealing with schedules, buying gifts, and baking casseroles all worth it and then some.