FAMILY: One of my favorite things about the holidays is getting to see family and relatives. I love going home for Thanksgiving break and Winter break to see my family. I love talking with my mom and my dad. For Thanksgiving, me and my parents go over to a family friend’s house. Then for Christmas, my mom and I go to Florida to visit my “Bachan,” which means Grandma in Japanese. My aunt, uncle and cousins also fly from Texas to visit us in Florida.
FRIENDS: I love spending time with my friends over winter break. I only have two friends who live close to home, but they are really good friends to me and I enjoy spending time with them. Last year I got to see my best friend, Meghan, and her mom. It really meant a lot to me that I got to see them.
THE GIFT OF GIVING: Another thing that I love about Christmas is giving gifts to friends and family. I love to give gifts to people because I like to contribute to their happiness. This year, I put a lot of thought into the gifts that I ordered online for my friends. To save money, I plan to make DIY gifts for my friends next year.
FESTIVITIES: I love Holiday festivities. This year I’m looking forward to participating in Secret Santa with the theater department and going to the theater department’s annual Christmas party.
FOOD AND DRINKS: I love food so much, especially the food I get to eat during the holidays! I love the turkey, cranberries, stuffing and mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, but my favorite food at Thanksgiving is the sweet potato casserole my mom makes. For Christmas, my mom and Bachan make sushi and it tastes delicious.
MUSIC: I absolutely adore Christmas music. Some of my favorite Christmas songs are “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Deck the Halls,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Ruldolph the Red Nose Reindeer.” My mom bought me two Christmas CDs years ago, and I still love to listen to them.
MOVIES: Another thing I love to do is watch the holiday classics. I like to watch “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” I also love Christmas movies and the lessons they teach. I love “Ruldolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and the lesson it teaches that we should accept others and embrace our differences. I also love the animated version of “The Grinch who Stole Christmas” and the lesson it teaches, which is that Christmas is not about the presents, but about the time spent with loved ones.
DECORATIONS: I like seeing the world lit up by Christmas lights at night. I love how Layla, the resident director of GB, decorated the lobby of GB. She made a sign that said “Santa This Way,” and posted paper stockings with all of the names of the residents of GB written on it.
WARMTH: In the colder seasons, I like to invest in warm Christmas-related items. I recently bought a light-up beanie that has snowmen on it that says “Let it Snow.” I also bought two pairs of Christmas fuzzy socks.
THE COUNTDOWN: The final thing I love about the holidays is the countdown to New Years. I usually celebrate the new year by watching the Georgia peach drop.
