“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel.”
-Charlie Brown in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
Some people don’t have Christmas spirit, and that’s ok.
Maybe it is the first year since they lost a parent, and so those decades of memories flood back and overwhelm and the loss is so painful that going numb is the only way to make it through. I’ve been there.
Maybe it is the first year of the separation or divorce and for the first time since they were born the kids aren’t there, making a mess and noise and the quiet in the house is deafening and disturbing. I have been there too and understand the feeling.
Maybe the seasonal depression is bad this year, or the economics are horrible due to job loss or a business imploding.
Maybe the entire materialistic feel of Christmas these days is just something you don’t jive with, and long for Schroeder jamming on the piano and then having Linus remind everyone of the reason for the season.
There are many reasons why someone isn’t as excited and energetic as Buddy the Elf after drinking a quart of syrup, and they are all ok. Be there for your friends (and self) in the manner they want and need. Be the “present” that they truly desire this year.