It’s crazy how Christmas can change for you as you get older. As a kid, Christmas is the

greatest day of the year, bar none. Even when you forget that you’re supposed to be grateful for the things you do get and not complain about what you don’t get (like an Eagles hat your brother got… only to get the same hat later in the day… I’ll never live that one down). As you get older, into your teens and then into your 20’s, Christmas is basically a chance for you to ask for all the latest technology devices, video games, sports equipment, and clothes. Something seems to be missing from Christmas when you hit those ages. At least for me it did.

I’m not gonna lie, before Sophia came into our lives, Christmas had grown stale in a sense. It’s not that I didn’t look forward to it, it’s just that it wasn’t fun for me anymore. To say that has changed would be an understatement among understatements. While last year was Sophia’s actual first Christmas, she didn’t know what was going on. Come on, she was 10-months old. What began last year with her being the center of all the Christmas attention, really jumped to another level this year. She recognized Santa, she LOVED the Hallmark singing snowmen that were littered throughout our house, and even got into the Elf on the Shelf. This year, Christmas turned back into what I remembered–a magical time. Seeing Christmas through Sophia’s eyes brought back that Christmas-y feelin’.

Granted, when we took her to see Santa this year, she was not the biggest fan. Yet, every time she saw a picture of Santa, a stuffed Santa, or saw Santa on TV, “Santa!!” was screamed. That’s not altogether surprising for her age, and not something we were surprised to see.

One of my favorite things that we did with her this year was start with the Elf on the Shelf tradition. Honestly, when we took him out of the box I really didn’t think that Sophia would be able to come up with a name. Who was wrong? THIS GUY! Within five minutes she

started calling the elf, Alfie, and a tradition was born. Every morning when we’d get her up out of bed, she immediately started asking for Alfie and would run around the house looking for him. No, she didn’t understand that she wasn’t allowed to touch him, but that’s besides the point. She knew to look for him every morning. And I’m not gonna lie, I had a blast coming up with new places to hide him.

We watched all the classic Christmas movies as they aired on TV, including Frosty, Rudolph, and the The Elf on the Shelf. We even left a few on our DVR just to keep her happy when she asks to see them. Watching Christmas classics for the first time with your first child really isn’t something that you can explain. How you feel in that moment is something that can’t be replicated. All the memories of seeing those things as a kid yourself come rushing back. It’s something you need to live through to really understand. That in itself is one of the great things about having a kid, seeing them experience new and awesome things that you take for granted now.

When it came to the actual day, or should I say days of Christmas, she was no less excited. “PWESENTS!!!!!!!!” I can’t tell you how many times we heard her scream out. There are so many new gifts, toys, play sets, tents, slides and more in our house now, I might as well just move our bed out and start sleeping in a corner. I guess being the first, and only, grandchild on both sides of our family has its perks for her. Christmas morning, Sophia actually said no to opening presents after a while. She was tired of it. Even after I opened one corner of a gift, she closed it back up, and re-taped it. Well, okay then, little lady, I guess no more presents for you today!

Now that I feel like I’ve written a book about Christmas, and honestly there’s so much more  that I haven’t even touched on, I think it’s best if I just share some photos and videos from Christmas. For all my parent-friends and even the parents I don’t know, how has Christmas changed for you since you’ve had kids? Have you experienced a similar feeling to what I started experiencing?

As always, please feel free to like, comment, and share!