That Christmas Feeling - Then and Now

This... thread. Can't reply to it. I'm crying now. Christmas has become oh so dull... My sister is the only one that cares about Christmas, because even if she doesn't believe in Santa anymore (she's 10), she's the first one to request the tree, the lights, the presents, the whole x-mas stuff...

I still remember the joy of opening up presents past midnight (we open the presents at 12:00 AM on the 25th, as soon as Christmas day starts)... The joy of gathering with the whole family and try to guess who would be the one dressing up as Santa that year.

I only care about selling stuff from my store at Christmas to make ends meet.

I'm sad now. brb having the best Christmas ever for my little cousins and me.

As far as I can remember, I've always loved Christmas because of the atmosphere. It hasn't changed for me yet; Christmas lights and music and everything else have always kind of uplifted me. Every year my family has a party, which consists of generic Christmas stuff and me playing with my sisters/cousins/nieces and nephews. It's always been genuine though; there's never anyone that doesn't want to be there, and everyone's cheerful and appreciative of the lame presents they get, plus the money from the old people who have way too much income and nothing to spend it on. It's everyones favorite time of the year and you're surrounded by people who you like to be around.

Changing this by adding and removing a few things and it's basically about how Christmas is for me.

Christmas has always been a massive deal for my family. And I have a huge family. From when I was a kid and to now Christmas has always been a chaotic amount of fun because of all the people, as a kid rushing through people while food was being made and the younger people were playing and everything else made it oh so fun. I haven't really lost any of the feeling I had about Christmas as a kid to now, except for the rush of rushing through crowds of people in whichever family member's house it was in that year. And I had many of the same experiences you had Sarah, staying up but falling asleep, waking up before the adults, etc. I remember a couple of years where either just me and my sisters would stand watch and wake one of us up when they were going to sleep but we would all end up falling asleep together anyway, or doing the same deal with other family members around our age when unwrapping with the entire family since sometimes we just had the typical Christmas, and others the whole shindig with presents and such.

I still like getting presents from family members even if it's something I don't use or whatnot even though that has never really been a problem with the family Christmas, but I enjoy giving presents so much more. I always get someone something they're just going to adore and I get so excited waiting for Christmas just so they can unwrap it so I can see the look on their face. Luckily most of my family and friends who I get gifts for are more into sentimental type gifts instead of stuff "they want but don't really need". And while I enjoy giving gifts no matter what I have to say I far more enjoy getting gifts for the people who enjoy sentimental gifts more, but I don't really mind dropping some money on a fancy thingy if I am close to that family member/friend. Sentimental look > just an item look still though.

I also have all those old Christmas specials/movies/events on VHS and break them out every year just to watch them.

So in short, Christmas hasn't really changed for me at all. Except for going from looking up at the crowd to looking over the crowd.

Well, in particular this year, it's been quite lacking in Christmas spirit in my family due to some depressing circumstances that have happened this year, ranging from stress at work, stress at school, but probably mostly because I attempted to commit suicide this year.

It could also be due to the lack of things I "Wish to have" for Christmas. Heck, at this rate, I'd be satisfied even if I get nothing at all, or even coal due to my "sin" that was an attempted suicide. Then again, I never really ask for a lot generally at life, even at one point refusing to have a cellphone because I personally felt one was unnecessary.

Christmas just makes me so happy, haha. I just love everything. Like Ben, I love the atmosphere and it makes me really happy. A few weeks off from school to stay at home and do whatever.

Every year my family gets together and has a party on Christmas Eve. My cousins from the USA come in and it's great, though the past 2 years they haven't (damn "jobs" and "friends", haha). When I was little, them coming in was a highlight. They were one of the only people in my family I could really relate to, as most of my cousins were the kind of girly type. They were the ones that really got me into video games. I remember them coming the first time (I think I was 3 or 4) and they amazed me with their Playstation. I'd spend most of my holidays at my aunt's house, where my cousins stayed, and we just played video games and did whatever until they left. On Christmas Eve, my family would all gather at my aunt's house and have a party. After everyone finished eating, we would open our presents (instead of on Christmas). It was pretty great.

Now, though my family doesn't seem as close during Christmas, with most of my cousins being older now and going out with friends, Christmas is still awesome for me. We still all get together and have a great time. Christmas never fails to make me happy. I don't get many presents now, just some money from a few aunts and uncles (in the little red envelopes, Asian style). When I was a little bit younger this disappointed me - as I was the youngest and would be babied with a ton of presents - and not getting a crapload was kind of a shock, but now, I'm just happy to be there, I guess.

I love Christmas.