I enjoy the holidays. As I have gotten older, they have seemed to lose their "magic" (if that makes any sense). I agree with some previous posters the over commercialization is a bit too much.
Without cheats? No. Do you mean in the Sims 2 University? Use the cheat "boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true". Then, shift-click on your sim and select "Spawn." Look for "Semester Tester" and choose "Graduate". Or do you mean growing up all at once?
I loved how in TS2 she always got angry at the Sims for being in bathing suits or undergarments, or showed public displays of affection. I did play Sims 1 but that was about half a lifetime ago. :P I did not interact with her much in TS3, maybe one of my sims had a baby with her, I do not remember.