Over and over, we've seen people on social media say that it doesn't feel like the holiday season anymore, and they aren't enjoying themselves like they used to. Conditions like seasonal affective disorder and clinical depression are real and deserving of treatment from professionals, but those aren't the problems we're dealing with here.
Instead, we're tackling regular-degular holiday spirit (or the lack thereof).
Holiday joy doesn't just show up on your door step — it takes a little bit of work to actually get into the swing of things, folks.
Regardless of your background or traditions, there's a very good chance that your family, school or community had a lot of holiday festivities in your youth that you simply participated in passively without much thought. As an adult, you have to seek that out yourself.
As such, we've put together some straight-forward ways you can summon the holiday spirit. Give 'em a try, and maybe your heart will grow three sizes.
Find classic holiday shows and films
If you're not watching anything holiday-focused, you can fix that anywhere. The heavy hitters like "Elf," "Miracle on 34th Street" or even "Die Hard" are easy to find just about anywhere, but we'd recommend you dig a little deeper to find the obscure stuff from your childhood that really matters to you.
Maybe the "Rugrats" Chanukah episode is important to you, or maybe some cheesy Hallmark Christmas flick. Whatever it is, we recommend that you chase it down through YouTube, the Internet Archive or any of the countless streaming services on offer.
The original 1966 "Grinch" TV special and "A Muppet Family Christmas" from 1987 are what makes us feel particularly Christmas-y, and revisiting them as adults have been a game changer.
Go to community events
No matter where you live, you're going to be able to find some sort of community gathering. Be it a church choir, tree lighting, parade or even a stage production, it'll go a long way toward getting you into the spirit.
Your closest city likely has an event calendar available online, and Facebook is chockablock with community ordeals. And, if all else fails, head to your community's sub-Reddit to find out if there's anything seasonal popping off this time of year.
Decorate your house (or at least your bedroom)
Even if you can only swing a miniature tree or some desk decorations, making the effort to visually change your environment will make everything feel that much more festive.
Obviously, not everyone can go full-blown Clark Griswold, but it's shocking how much some glowing lights and garland change your mood.
Listen to the music from your childhood
It's 2024, so you almost certainly have unlimited access to nearly every song ever made. Take advantage of the countless community-made playlists on Spotify to find the holiday music you listened to as a kid.
People can dunk on us all they'd like, but "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney sounds like our childhoods, so that's what we're playing in our headphones right now.
Make your devices cheery
If you're reading this article, you definitely spend hours of your day staring at a screen, so use that to your advantage. Find some holiday-themed wallpapers, deck out your browser and spend some time streaming a yule log on your TV.
Yule be surprised at the results. We promise.
[Image: Leeloo The First]
