Do you still get that "night before Christmas" feeling?

I use that image (night before Christmas) because it is the best way I know of describing the feeling I’m interested in. I’m sorry if people who do not know anything about Christmas are excluded. Perhaps after a few answers you might get the idea.

The night before Christmas, for me as a child, was a most amazing kind of “high” feeling. Not just the night before, of course, but that is where it is all set up. It’s like creating the expectation of ecstasy and you get so anxious and alert and the world looks bright and sparkly, and then it’s Christmas day, and your dreams come true (well, maybe not, but the night before, it is still possible).

We do different things as adults, of course. But I hope we all get to do things that give us that feeling or something like it. Where do you get that sort of feeling nowadays and why does it make you feel that way. If you like, try to describe the feeling itself. The more descriptions we get, the more other people will be able to see what it is.

One other aspect of this feeling I am interested in is whether you feel like it could be addictive. It’s a kind of high feeling and it should make you feel really good. Sometimes, people get so focussed on the feeling that they get obsessed with doing it over and over, just for the rush. Did this ever happen to you?