Recapturing the Magic of Christmas

Anyone else having trouble accepting that it’s already the Christmas season? Where did the last two months go? It’s sad how quickly time passes (that is, until you’re in a difficult season and just waiting to get to the other side). But it makes me feel I am unable to make the most of the holidays the way I want. You think you have plenty of time but then before you know it, it’s one week out and you’re scrambling to get it together. Is this a hallmark of adulthood? YIKES! I miss being a kid when summer vacation seemed to last forever and Christmastime was purely magical. You didn’t even need much to make it so, there was such sweet simplicity to it all.

I still feel the magic for sure, but it’s hard to keep it at the forefront. Perhaps because we live in such a noisy, fast-paced world of a politically motivated press. Not to mention the success marketing has in making us miserable if we don’t meet an unrealistic standard of making our holiday celebrations look like something out of a magazine spread. I mean, they are the experts in selling us on a concept of what is ideal, which of course will cost you. But go back. Did any of that even matter when you were a child? What was the thing that made any moment magical?

For me, it was all about anticipation. We don’t have time to anticipate much anymore. We’re so busy trying to make it through the day. Do you get up in the morning looking forward to the day or dreading it? How often do we look forward to something planned days, weeks, or months in advance? Do you look forward to Christmas? Many of us are just trying to get through it, not anticipating it.

I remember as a child getting ready to go to a major amusement park in the midwest, Cedar Point, for the first time. I was so excited that I couldn’t even fall asleep just thinking about it. I stayed up until the break of dawn and somehow still had the energy to go on the trip and run around the park all day. Many of us have that same memory of waiting for Santa to arrive. We would think about it all month and then lay awake dreaming of what we might find under the tree. Most of us didn’t get our every heart’s desire, but it didn’t stop us from doing it all over again the next year. When was the last time something kept you up all night because you were so eager with anticipation? When you become an adult you are no longer easy to impress.

But that’s the joy of diminishing returns…when you live in a world that pressures you to pack so much into every single holiday, every single vacation, every single moment, you can’t keep up that momentum and enjoy it the way you should or would like to. This of course leads to deep feelings of dissatisfaction. So one thing I have opted to do for myself over the last couple years is to allow myself breaks. Breaks from traditions, breaks from the expectation to repeat a magical moment and allow for some new ones. I’m not saying traditions are bad, I love them, but there is no reason to force it when you’re not feeling it.

So before December hits, I am resolving to enjoy the moment and let some things unfold naturally. To do what I can without overwhelming myself with perceived expectations I’ve only put on myself, and allow myself to anticipate the unexpected. Because more often than not, magical moments are not something you can plan. They happen when you least expect it but are eager to welcome them when they come knocking. And when they do, open the door and let ’em in…

The mood is right
The spirit’s up
We’re here tonight
And that’s enough
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

—Paul McCartney, Wonderful Christmastime