Before Kris and I had access to adult money, we’d each get a video game for what major holiday we’d currently be celebrating. For a few years, the Easter Bunny would put the latest Pokémon game in our baskets. Kris would get one version, such as Pokémon SoulSilver, and I’d get the other, such as Pokémon HeartGold. If we were lucky, we’d get the latest console. I believe both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Wii U were Christmas gifts to us.

December 26th is always a pajama day for us. A day to relax, to not socialize with anyone, to not leave the house. We’ll eat leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and snack on holiday desserts all day long. I remember one year we got the latest Pokémon games for Christmas and we played them from start to finish nearly in 24 hours. We began the games Christmas night, stayed up late, only to wake up again super early on the 26th, and complete them. If I recall, those games were Pokémon X and Pokémon Y.

We always go away with our parents during Thanksgiving weekend and, now that we’re older, we tend to get the latest Pokémon games ourselves (especially since they typically release in autumn) and we spend that weekend in the mountains playing Pokémon. It’s basically tradition at this point and something we always look forward to.

The holidays were always an exciting time because we’d get a brand new video game to play together. They were mostly Pokémon games, if you couldn’t already guess, but we’d sometimes get other types of games that were different but we’d still play together. So, it was like getting two new games each. For example, Kris might have gotten the latest Legend of Zelda game while I’d get the latest Mario Kart or something.

Now that we’re adults, the holidays aren’t as magical, but they’re still a great time to slow down. (I mean, once the holiday is over. The holidays are actually quite stressful.) Kris and I still tend to play a lot of video games during this time since we don’t have much time otherwise to binge a game or two.

We still get a new game or two as a gift, which we look forward to, but now this time of year is more nostalgic than anything else. I often find myself playing old favorites, such as Paper Mario 64, Animal Crossing, or Stardew Valley. I’ll get in the mood to play an older Pokémon game, and I think that’s because I’ve conditioned myself over the years to play Pokémon around this time of year. Plus, I’m a collector when playing games and Pokémon is the ultimate collectathon.

This year, Kris and I have played a ton of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. We’ve already beaten the game, which is probably the fastest time we’ve gone through a Pokémon game–well, not including that time we played X and Y… but that was released in 2013, so we had way less responsibilities at that point and even though we were adults, we weren’t adult-adults. You know what I mean.

(Side note: I find it funny that both Pokémon games we played and completed the fastest are set in the Kalos region.)

At the time of writing this post, we’ve rolled the credits in Pokémon Legends: Z-A and are working our way through the DLC. I’m sure the 26th will be filled with video games, continuing that title, and playing through any new games we receive for the holiday.

And yet, I’m super tempted to turn on Animal Crossing: New Horizons again. Maybe it’s because the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releases soon, or maybe it’s just that time of year and I’m itching to build a snowman without freezing my toes off.

Regardless, no matter how busy I get during the year, I know I can count on this time, once Christmas ends, to put my feet up and enjoy playing video games–old or new–as if I’m a kid again.