Not much anymore. There's always those annoying family members invited to my house at Christmas that make me think of this holiday day as something I have to put through rather than an enjoyable day. As a kid excited for Christmas in October I couldn't care less, but now it's too much of a problem for me... xD
I love Christmas. It's always had a special spirit about it for me.
This year's been a bit ehh though, with family drama and whatnot. Maybe it'll turn around come Christmas itself, idk.
I still very much love Christmas. I just don't love it for the exact same reasons I did as a kid. Back then it was all about time off from school, classic Christmas specials and music, and bountiful presents. I think, once upon a time, I even liked spending time with my extended family.
Now, some of those things are still great, but it's about the whole season. I love the atmosphere of Christmas. I love the way everything looks at night, the countryside speckled with Christmas lights, houses in town adorned with silly blow up Christmas decor, and ugh.. the city just gets so pretty. I love Christmas events, like tree lightings and musicals and there's a holiday train ride around here that serves wine and gives you a tree at the end to take home?? I've never been on it, but dang I want to.
Anyway, my point is, some of the magic of Christmas is gone. But that doesn't stop me from looking, or for finding reasons to still love the holiday season. I think, for people who find that they get really stressed out around Christmas, it pays to remember that you are not obligated to celebrate it the same way that everyone else does. Find a way to make it enjoyable for you.
I like Christmas and New Year very much, because the full week, which contains them, counts as a holidays for the most of workers in our country (we celebrate Cristmas in 7th Jan instead of 25th Dec, so the first week of every new year is a holiday week).
Right now I'm only studying and not working, but I'm waiting for the holidays even more than usual! My studying duties in the current semester end before the New Year, so I hope I'll be able to meet it relaxed, and then go to the winter holidays. They last even longer for PhD students than for working people, and we nevertheless receive stipend during January, which is awesome (this is so in my university at least). 
Of course I'm anticipating very much how I'll be resting and making creative work during the holidays. 
People around decorate their houses and everything, and it looks great and always remind me that the holidays will come soon, and I'll rest and have fun soon. 
When I think about it, life don't feels like something bad at all
I adore Christmas! I know there's a lot of silly movies out there telling the audience that Christmas is about the Christmas spirit and not about presents, but it's kind of true! I love the cold air, I love the spirit of giving, and I love taking night walks with my family to look at the lights! Lastly, being a Christian, I love what the Holiday is originally about!
Christmas right now for me is just an extra excuse to hang out with friends, watch movies, and bake and that's pretty great. I'm a sucker for Christmas lights and snow and in a lot of ways as the holiday time has gotten a lot more chill it makes it a lot more fun.
I love the leadup to Christmas. I love the music, the lights, the everything.
The magic this year, though seems to be on the low side, though. I went shopping last week and it wasn't as exciting as it usually is. Even last year was still great.
I also did very minimal decorating this year.
What I'm attributing it to is the semester which finished last week was kind of a downer for me and I was more concerned with that instead of getting stoked for Christmas.
However, it's still five days away. I've been listening to Christmas music to cheer me up. Now, I just need to watch some Christmas specials to really get me into the spirit.
Christmas is my favorite time of year. I do not give a darn about giving gifts or receiving them because that is completely secondary to the the reason Christmas matters.
I love the music.
I love the decorations.
I love midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
I love being reminded of what matters.
For me almost every holiday can be a fun time & memorable time- and a bad/"meh" time for reasons. At one point I liked the holidays coz I would spend time with family and the memories were good- nowdays I really dont care to be around my fam as much coz some of them have changed over the years. I dont like the commercialism of Christmas; I dont like how people are shitty the whole year, and then think they can absolve all of that by performing some small feat/action of kindness during the holiday season.
Now that my kiddo is grown and gone, I try to find other ways to enjoy myself during the holiday season. I'll kick back, take a few days off from the day job, and watch movies- I might even go to a movie...
Christmas is my favourite holiday, and I love it just as much as I did when I was a kid -- maybe even more so. Yes, buying gifts is super stressful, but exchanging gifts is still fun. Also, the winters where I live are long and dark, and Christmas brings some light and joy to what would otherwise be a very depressing month.
It helps that I work as a face painter, so I get invited to all the Christmas parties 
It took a few years but once I got everyone to accept I wasn't giving/taking gifts.... it became so much more enjoyable and stress free.
Buying gifts for the four kids in my life is a joy.
I can enjoy parts of the season and avoid the economic scam the season has become.
It's definitely not the same when you're out of college.
It's also more depressing with family getting older, some not being there anymore.
So while I enjoy being part of secret santa exchanges with my friends, it's definitely not as fun as when I was a kid. Traveling to see cousins, getting presents, decorating the tree, having X-mas parties at school, making X-mas crafts …
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I love holidays in general, just for different reasons. Halloween and Christmas are tied for favorite because Halloween is one I spend with friends. Even if it isn't on Halloween itself, the month tends to be about us getting costumes, watching horror movies, maybe having a get together or two and, of course, all the spooky meme's. I don't always watch horror movies but once October starts it is horror every day. Carving pumpkins, obviously gotta do that, seeing how people decorate their homes for trick or treating and, of course, trick or treating itself! I still go lol so I love it!
Christmas is different though since, for me, it has to do with family. I actually don't really celebrate Thanksgiving with anyone other than my dad and brothers while Christmas is a huge get together as in aunt's, uncle's, cousins, long lost relatives appearing from the swamps of who knows where. It can be loads of fun. Rather than get everyone gifts for such events, we all just purchase a single present then play games and exchange them at the get together so no stress! Just lots of games, food and seeing people I haven't seen all year. I know not everyone loves spending time with their family but, in my case, my family is super loud, loves to play games and joke around so it tends to be a lot of fun. I've always got a lot of Christmas spirit! Not to mention the lights, ooooh man, I love just walking or driving around with people to see the lights! Ah, and my cats love the Christmas tree so that's a hoot lol
In short, I love the holidays. Each one is a little different but I can see why it may not be as fun for others. If I compared it to childhood, I'd say my excitement is the same. It's just in a different form, before I wanted presents, now I like seeing people open what I've made/bought for them. Before, I wanted to trick or treat, now I can skip all the walking and buy the candy myself XD
Today is actually my Alive Day. Six years ago on this day I was involved in a major car crash that nobody, least of all myself, expected to survive, let alone survive relatively intact. (OK, so my sacral spine and pelvis are held together by metal rods, my knee and neck still hurt when a cold front or a storm approaches, and I have PTSD, but I expected I'd be hamburger helper, if not worm food.) So this date since then has been a hard one for me, and it was hard to manage my triggers - one of them being seeing Christmas stuff up before December 20. So you can guess that I was a mess.
Christmas carols on the radio before that date annoyed me, but stations taking Christmas carols off the air at maybe 5 pm Christmas Day flat out made me mad.
I'm doing much better now. It's kind of helped that I've just learned to ignore everyone who thinks the Christmas season starts before Halloween (zombies in the Nativity scene? Go get 'em, Baby Jesus!) and ends the second we've finished dinner, and observe the holiday in my own traditional way, starting the season on the 25th and celebrating into February. I think it's the best way to avoid feeling let down come December 26 too.
Christmas has only gotten better as I have gotten older. It is very difficult to be in a bad mood this time of year. I love my family, I love biting cold and snow, and I am both a hopeless romantic and a religious fellow. I am an easy mark for Christmas cheer. Palpably special time of year. So many opportunities to be gloriously sentimental. I could go on and on. If I felt more established as a creator and if I had an actual buffer, I would leap at the chance to have a Christmas related special.
Christmas was nice when I could spend it with my family playing board games and having fun but now I'm spending Christmas alone for the first time and it just feels like another day. I'm working till the 22nd and then I'm just gonna work on my comic and school stuff until January.
I do miss the graveyard visit, though. Every year we bring candles to the graves of lost loved ones but now I'm living in a new city, so I can't do that this year. I'll just have to settle for a candle on the balcony this time, I guess.
