What are your Christmas Traditions?

Not so much a tradition, but an observation-- sort of on the "down" side:

I'm starting to think it all ties in to an old saying I put a lot of stock into:

1. First, you believe in Santa Claus.
2. Then, you don't believe in Santa Claus.
3. Then, you become Santa Claus.

I really "got" that saying once I became a dad. It brought the Christmas experience to a whole new level. But looking back, there's a lot to be said for the other two periods. Of course the magic and sense of wonder when you are a child and believe in Santa Claus, and go to sleep, and wake up to find presents and toys, and are there with your family (whether just immediate or extended) in a place with a warm happy glow. everyone knows that's a cool time of life.

But then when you don't believe in Santa Claus, Christmastime is still a pretty good deal. You're either a kid/teenager and you still get presents and stuff. You're off from school with a nice long two week or so vacation. Then in college, it's also swell: you get to have an almost one-month semester break, go home from school and see your old friends and go out, you still receive (and now give) presents, etc. And as a young adult, it's also a season to look forward to during the years you don't believe in Santa Claus-- there are holiday parties with friends/family, presents to buy and give out, maybe you are decorating your own apartment or 1st house. Good times.

And finally, you BECOME Santa Claus. You still may have some parties, and some decorating to do, but now you do it and get to see the wonder reflected in your children's eyes. You get to teach them the traditions and songs, and all that fun stuff. And you get to find and purchase the toys they want and hide them, and get the kids to sleep so you can bring them out and put together stuff like tricycles and kitchen play sets and the like, and it is a BLAST.

But what about the last, UNSAID stage, when your own kids are too old to believe in Santa Claus?

4. You are not Santa Claus anymore.

This phase sucks. My own kids are teenagers. So are all but one of my nieces and nephews. There are no toys or presents to buy. The girls get to pick out what they want, and the wife doesn't even get them to wait for Christmas itself ("your new iPhone/jacket/whatever is your Christmas present"). My wife just gives envelopes with money to all the nieces and nephews that we used to shop for. That doesn't go under the tree. My wife and I quit exchanging gifts YEARS ago when the kids were small-- what was the point? We had everything we needed, and if we needed anything (or wanted anything)-- a new jacket, a chainsaw, tickets to a game-- we just bought it. Our parents are all retired and want/need nothing-- they usually wind up with gift certificates or gift cards. Again, nothing nice to put under the tree. The in-laws sold their big house and moved to a condo, so no more raucous Christmas dinners there. Everyone is too busy with their own stuff to come half of the time anyway-- nephew Billy has to go with his new wife's family; Aunt Joanne doesn't get along with grandma (her mother-in-law) so she doesn't come, etc.

Who knows, maybe it will change again in a decade or so when I become a grandpa. Maybe at that point it will be the alternate 4th phase:

4(a): You look like Santa Claus.