I bet that the pagans did do a tree and gifts, probably did snowmen too (which is more of a winter thing than a Christmas thing anyway), and they probably did have an associated folk character of some sort, even though it probably wasn't Santa Claus.

Most people barely even experience seasonality now that nearly everything's available in the grocery store year-round (thanks to international shipping) and we have excellent central heating and cooling in our houses and offices. Plus extremely cheap lighting, for that matter, which strongly affects our experience of the Winter months. No smells of burning oil, no rationing the candles carefully, no fires to tend through the night.