The magic of Christmas evolves over time, from getting to giving. Giving, of course, is much harder than getting, so once you get to a certain age it’s entirely up to you to keep the magic of Christmas alive. For children, the magic is made by the parents, while parents find magic in their children. Teenagers, however, are stuck in a strange gray area, where creating the magic is entirely up to them.

Magic, like everything, costs money. Teenagers don’t have a lot of that, and it takes some level of imagination to create the magic without it. Homemade gingerbread houses, looking at Christmas lights and hanging up the Christmas tree are all great ways of celebrating the season, but is anyone actually trying?

You’ll often hear teenagers say that the magic has been lost. It’s understandable. You don’t believe in the same things you used to. Going out of your way to bring Christmas back to life can feel like too much effort on top of school and work. It’s a shame that the most wonderful time of the year has to be set aside for other, significantly less wonderful things. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the magic is dead.

Christmas isn’t dead, you just aren’t putting in the effort. Once you reach a certain age, the responsibility is put on you to bring life to Christmas. You could choose not to, and reminisce about the times when Christmas was fun, or you could take the time to set up the Christmas tree, get some friends together and make Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses, Christmas cards, etc. You could host a Christmas party, Secret Santa or go Christmas caroling. Christmas is a time of togetherness and giving. It may seem like an effort, but it’s worth it to bring the magic of Christmas back to life for you, and hopefully everyone around you.