“Christmas time is here

Happiness and cheer 

Fun for all 

That children call 

Their favorite time of year.”

-Christmastime Is Here

But what if we’re not children anymore?? For many seniors, this holiday season will be their last living at home, if not their last as a kid. What a crazy thought!

For me, coming to terms with this reality means I’ve been in a state of deeply reflective nostalgia. This time next year, I’ll likely be finishing up finals and preparing to come home for break. I won’t be here in my hometown to enjoy the moments leading up to Christmas Day. I’ll be going back and forth from college to home. Does this put a damper on my capacity to appreciate the magic of Christmas? I guess that remains to be seen.

Right now, though, knowing it’s my last Christmas at home makes me want to make the most of it and appreciate the season’s magic. This reality has opened my eyes to what it means to really lean into childlike wonder and embrace every moment. 

What I mean is that I want to really go big or go home with all the fun Christmas traditions we do as a family. Say yes to going to Christmas in the Park 4,000 times in a season. Go to that really cold Christmas parade on the square downtown. Spend time with my niece and nephew doing all the fun Christmas-themed arts and crafts. Watch Home Alone (the best Christmas movie of all time) no less than 10 times. Sing all the super cheesy Christmas songs at the top of my lungs. Make the Christmas cookies look as festive as possible – and lay on the sprinkles of course! Hang out in a cozy cafe and yap for a while with my best friends. Make that snowman instead of complaining about snow.  Sit at the Christmas Eve church service and really listen, really take it all in.

All the things I do that could be seen as mundane, annoying, and time-consuming. That’s what I’m choosing to find joy in this year. Not a task but a treasure. Not a chore but a cherished core memory. 

So, reader, if I had any advice, it’d be to make the cookies, watch the movies, and decorate to your heart’s content. We’re only little once.