Being the baby of the family tends to mean a lot of things during the holidays.
It can definitely be stressful when you're the last person who believes in Santa or when you need to pretend that you still believe, even though you found out last Christmas. But for me, being the youngest meant that I always had the best Christmases.
Families tend to look towards the youngest member of the family for the excitement and joy that Christmas brings because the youngest tends to still believe in the magic of Christmas. So, you get these privileges when you're the youngest that no one else gets because everyone wants you to have the best Christmas possible.
1. Everyone else pretended to believe in Santa for your benefit.
I am pretty sure that everyone is guilty of this for children all over the world, but it is entirely different when everyone is pretending for you.
The number of times I put family members on the spot when I asked questions about Santa probably ranges in the hundreds, yet every single time, they made something up so I would never find out the truth. Just the fact that your family, and even strangers, pretended for you so you could hold onto that little bit of magic is incredible.
And it makes Christmas ten times better when everyone is pretending for you. And god help anyone who tried to tell you any differently.
2. Everyone let you believe in Santa way longer than they should have.
My mom is definitely guilty of this. To this day, she still hasn't said to me, "Santa isn't real." I truly believed Santa could have been real until I was 12 and that's all thanks to my family.
Endless years of leaving cookies out for Santa, throwing "reindeer food" on our front lawn, and hearing sleigh bells outside my Grandma's house every year left me in the dark for a majority of my childhood. It's not necessarily a bad thing –– they just want someone to be excited for Christmas, I just wish that I didn't fight with some kids in middle school about it.
3. You always got to put the star/angel on the tree.
Being the youngest almost always guaranteed you this. You were the smallest and the most easily liftable, so you were the most obvious choice to put the topper on the tree. I remember fighting with my sister over who got to put the angel on, and of course, I always won. It's the little sibling right of passage when decorating the tree, especially because we were too short to reach most of the tree anyway.
4. You made the executive decisions on decorations when your siblings got "too old."
My sister hit her "too cool" phase when she turned 18 and left for college, so I took full pride in decorating the tree by myself and arranging all the other decorations exactly how I wanted them. Nothing makes you feel better than hearing someone say that the Christmas tree looks nice and then hearing your parent give you all the credit. It's your shining moment for Christmas when you can take pride for making the centerpiece of the holiday look 10/10 amazing.
5. You always got to go to the mall to see Santa at least once.
Of course, your family had to make multiple secret trips to the stores to get you exactly what you asked Santa for, but there was always that one day. The day when your family took you to see Santa and shop for "your family."
Your parents got their cringy Christmas card photo or even posted it on FaceBook so your extended family could see how much you've grown since last Christmas. It was the highlight of your day, because you got to make sure Santa knew exactly what you wanted, and you got to see all the cool new toys and Christmas decorations all over the mall.
6. You get served Christmas dinner first.
Whether this was solely meant to keep you out of the adult's hair so they could actually get their food, being the youngest always ensured that the first plate out of the kitchen was yours. This definitely changes the older you get, but the youngest always seems to know when the food is done, and always has a plate in hand the minute it is.
7. You were the first one awake on Christmas morning because you were the first one asleep.
This was entirely due to you being forced into bed by 9 because "Santa won't come if you aren't asleep". But being the first one awake and getting to see all of the presents and entire Christmas scene laid out in front of you, untouched, was the Hallmark of being the youngest. You were the wakeup call to one of the best holidays out there, and it all started and ended with you.
