The holidays are always a special time of year. All the love and joy make for a unique feeling, along the with quality time with loved ones. The happiness that stems from the holidays is not to say that there is not a transition that occurs when you start to get older. You don’t go trick or treating, you stop putting cookies and milk out for Santa and maybe these special times start to lose their magic. Growing up is always hard and seeing these tangible differences have the capability to make the holidays feel more nostalgic than fun.
The Other Side of Trick or Treating
It is important to still be able to acknowledge the specialness that comes with the holiday season, even though it may be different from when you were a kid. Halloween may have been the first realization of the growing up you have done.
As a kid, Halloween was an exciting time where you can transform yourself into anything you wanted, eat as much candy as your stomach allowed and maybe, if the timing was right, be out late on a school night while trick or treating. Not doing this is undeniably a loss of something fun and youthful, but there are other ways to make the night still one to remember. Watching movies from when you were a kid, like “Hocus Pocus” or “Halloweentown” is a good way to stay in touch with your younger self. Maybe if you’re lucky enough, you live in a house where you are now the one giving candy out to the little kids, which can be just as fun as when you were on the other side of the door.
Setting The Tone
For the upcoming holidays, there are a bunch of ways to still get the magic out of the months ahead. Decorating your apartment, dorm or house is always a great way to get in the spirit. Even changing the scents in your house, like the soaps or candles, to more seasonal smells is a helpful way to capitalize on the time of year.
The True Meaning
The holidays are always revolving around love, specifically the love that comes from spending time with your loved ones. As you grow up, it is really important to realize that while getting gifts is still appreciated, it is the gathering of family and friends that remains consistent and attributes to the sense of joy on these days.
If your journey of growing up has made it so this time with loved ones is scarcer, incorporating little traditions that you enjoyed growing up is a great way to hold onto that connection from a distance. The holidays are when you are to speak upon the love you have, so if the distance is in the way of that, pick up the phone and give them a call. Express yourself this season to fully indulge in the meaning behind the holiday.
It’s an exciting time coming up, but that does not mean you are not allowed to feel nostalgic in your age. The holidays can be a great time to sit back and reflect, along with predict and manifest for the future. This season, give yourself the time and the resources you need to still feel the specialness that exists.
What do you do to make the holidays still fun? Let @VALLEYmag know on Instagram!
2 Comments