Finding Christmas Spirit as an Adult

There’s a certain kind of magic that fills the air when you’re a kid at Christmastime. You can feel it as soon as the season begins: in the first chill of winter, the glow of twinkling lights and the comforting smell of something sweet baking in the kitchen. But somewhere between growing up, paying bills and managing the holiday chaos, that childlike wonder seems to fade. The season becomes a checklist instead of a feeling – what gifts to buy, events to attend and the fact that there are more pine needles spread throughout the house than under the tree.

It’s not that we stop loving Christmas. It’s just that life gets louder, and magic doesn’t always shout - it whispers.

This year, I decided to listen for it again and am hoping to encourage all adults to do the same.  

The Search for Christmas Spirit

Somewhere along the way, many of us realize the holidays don’t feel quite the same as they did when we were kids. The stockings still hang, the cookies still bake and the music still plays, but the sparkle we remember sometimes seems a little dimmer. The rush of the season can take over, leaving less room for the quiet joy we once felt so easily.

As adults, we’re often the ones making the magic, not waiting for it. But maybe that’s where the shift happens. The Christmas spirit doesn’t disappear; it just changes shape. It hides in smaller moments. Maybe it’s in laughter shared over dinner, the soft glow of the tree at night or the memory of a tradition that has been passed down for years.

1. Go Back to Your Roots

When we were little, traditions defined the season. Maybe it was baking sugar cookies with your mom, piling into the car to look at lights or watching “Home Alone” for the hundredth time. Those small moments felt monumental because they were ours.

So, what happens if we bring them back?

This year, try reviving an old tradition that used to make you feel alive during the holidays. Go to a Christmas tree farm and pick out a real tree - the kind that fills your house with that fresh pine scent. Turn on the Christmas music while you decorate, and don’t worry if the ornaments don’t match. Let them tell your story.

Or maybe your favorite memory was helping your grandma make her famous pie for Christmas dinner. Bring that dish back to your table this year. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be you.

2. Simplify to Feel More

As adults, we often feel pressure to make Christmas picture perfect. But sometimes, the pursuit of perfection steals the joy right out of it.

When we were kids, it didn’t matter if the presents were only wrapped in paper and didn’t have a bow on top or if the cookies came out a little crispier than normal (we still ate them!). What mattered was the laughter in the kitchen, the music in the background and the feeling of being together.

So, this year, give yourself permission to simplify. Say yes only to the things that truly bring you joy, not obligation. Maybe that means skipping one party to spend an evening at home watching your favorite holiday movie by the fire. Maybe it’s wrapping gifts while sipping hot cocoa instead of rushing through it (maybe you’ll get those bows added this year!).  

You don’t have to do it all to feel it all.

3. Find Joy in the Little Things

Children are masters at finding joy in the ordinary: the first snow of the season, a mug of cocoa with all the marshmallows, helping you bake cookies. As adults, we often rush past those moments.  

Finding the spirit of Christmas as an adult isn’t about recreating childhood exactly as it was. It’s about rediscovering how to feel awe again. It’s choosing to pause long enough to be moved by small wonders. Maybe it’s turning on your Christmas tree lights first thing in the morning when it’s still a tiny bit quiet throughout the house or picking out a sweet treat to bake for the upcoming weekend. Those small pauses add up to a season that feels slower, softer and more meaningful.

4. Give More Than You Get

If there’s one sure way to find the Christmas spirit, it’s through giving. But not just in the traditional sense.

When I think about what made Christmas magical as a child, it wasn’t just receiving gifts; it was the excitement of giving something I’d made or picked out. There’s something about generosity — big or small — that awakens joy.

This year, consider how you can bring light to someone else’s season. Deliver a plate of cookies to a neighbor, donate to a local charity or surprise someone with a Christmas card. It doesn’t take much to make someone’s day a little brighter, and that warmth has a way of circling right back to you.

5. Let the Magic In

One of the best parts of Christmas as a child was believing - in Santa, in snow on Christmas morning, in the idea that reindeer really can fly. This season, let’s choose to see the holidays not as something to get through but something to experience fully.

Finding Christmas spirit as an adult isn’t about chasing the past - it’s about allowing yourself to feel again. To put down the phone, step away from the rush and remember what made you fall in love with the season in the first place.

Because maybe, just maybe, the magic of Christmas never left us at all. We just forgot where to look.

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