As kids, the most important and landmark holiday is Christmas. The holiday season is looked forward to every single year by teens, adults and of course, kids. Patiently waiting for Santa to deliver their gifts, bidding hello and goodbye to their elves, and waking up Christmas morning to see not only their cookies eaten, but an abundance of gifts waiting for them under the tree, Christmas is an essential part of every childhood. As we grow older, the spark starts to fade. We forget about watching the Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve, forget the last time we saw our elves, and Christmas just turns into a casual day.

Aside from just growing older, the spirit eventually fades even for younger siblings. As the older sibling gets older and moves past all the holiday cheer, the same energy isn’t kept for the younger. According to Joey Drawbaugh ’24, instead of having a whole new holiday experience, he just got hand-me-downs.

“We kinda stopped doing all the Christmas stuff once my siblings got older,” Drawbaugh said. “Even if my parents lost their spirit, sometimes I’d get gifts meant for my brother.”

For younger siblings, it’s harder to experience the Christmas magic due to their older siblings. For parents, it’s harder to keep the spirit alive years and years on. Many of the missing key components have gotten left out of the traditions, and according to Chad Hepner, the overall excitement has faded as well.

“I just miss the extra level of excitement about Christmas magic and Santa our kids had when they were younger,” Hepner said.

Especially as kids grow up, the feeling of Christmas nostalgia is one that’s very apparent. While most people don’t like change, it hits harder around the holiday season, especially for families with college students.

“I think the biggest change is now that our son, Logan, is in college, it’s a bigger deal to have him home for the holidays and have our whole family together,” Hepner said. “That’s something we took for granted when all our kids were living at home.”

Keeping the magic is the most important factor, and a lot of the time that job is passed onto the older sibling. For many, their job during the Christmas season is to bring it to life for their siblings. According to Vivi Cilano ’26, it can be the most exciting part.

“I love seeing my siblings look for our elf every morning,” Cilano said. “It makes the earlier wake-ups so worthwhile.”
Of course, aside from the well known traditions, the most important part about the holiday season is spending time together. For many families, the two week break is one that is not to be taken for granted anymore.

“Now, there’s probably less emphasis on the gifts,” Hepner said. “And more emphasis on just being together to celebrate.”