West End students share Christmas traditions

Teacher Carol Payne asked her students in her Challenge Program at West End Elementary to write about their favorite holiday traditions. 

Hi, my name is Emma. I will tell you some of the things I do on Christmas. Every Christmas we put up a huge Christmas tree. Also my brother and I have one. We decorate it, and my mom and dad go to Walmart, the mall and other places to buy Christmas presents. We can’t go with them unless they are not shopping for us. And every Christmas I make cookies with my Easy Bake I got for Christmas, and we put out eggnog for Santa Claus. We also put out food for the reindeer. They LOVE it so much! Then we eat chili, mashed potatoes and green beans. Then we go in my grandmother’s den and look in our stockings to see what she got us, and we unwrap our presents she got us. Then we go home and go to sleep, and then I am the one to get up first, and I get everybody up. We open the presents and stockings to see what my parents got me! That is my family’s Christmas tradition. Emma Hamilton

My favorite holiday tradition is helping the poor get gifts for Christmas. Around Christmastime my grandmother, at her church, draws tickets for the needy people, and this year she drew for an 11-year-old boy. That’s how old I am. I hope he is going to be happy. If he is, that will show the true Christmas spirit. I will feel so happy. I will give him a couple pairs of clothes to wear. Another one of my favorite holiday traditions is to watch Christmas specials with my family. We normally watch the old Charlie Brown winter special and the old Frosty the Snowman video, too. I like doing that, because I feel like I am included. After we do that then we open our presents. I really like my family’s holiday traditions. Zac Rohner

Christmas has pretty much the same idea in every home: give and be given, but every home also does everything differently. What’s it like in other families? I’ll tell you about mine. We never use a real Christmas tree. It might catch fire and burn my home to ashes. We use an old, plastic, foldable tree. We also have an angel we use instead of a star. My sister always gets to put it on the "tree." Grrrrrrrrrrrr … And my parents take a picture of her putting it on every time! Grrrrrrrrr again … On Christmas Eve it’s really night time that everything happens. Every other part is like any other day. Dad always reads us “The Night before Christmas” right before bed. Mom baked cookies for Santa already. You know how hard it is to sleep as a kid when it’s Christmas? Really. My brother, Steven, and I both have Nintendo DS’s, and they have built-in alarm clocks, so we set ‘em for 7 a.m. We never go in until Mom and Dad let us, and they actually have to be awake. Santa never wraps his presents to us, so as soon as we walk in, we know what they are. Dad hands each person their wrapped gifts, and most of them are from him and Mom. Steven always asks for at least one video or PC game, and he always gets one, at least. The receiver of the gift must hug the giver after opening. You know what the living room looks like after "The Great Opening?" A mess! Of course we clean it up, play with presents, and have an amazing time with my family. Samuel Godfrey

We decorate our Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving. Almost every Christmas we have gingerbread houses. After choir we made a huge gingerbread house at our church. We made a log gingerbread house. Christmas is another one of my favorite holidays. Matt Knauss

My favorite Christmas tradition is Christmas morning. My sisters wake me up, "Lauren! Lauren! It’s Christmas!" I leap out of bed and jump for joy. We run down the staircase, and we are so excited that we don’t even stop to say good morning to mom or dad. As soon as we get downstairs we check and see if Santa wrote us a letter and ate all the snacks! We check to see if the reindeer ate all the carrots. Then we fly through the living room to the stockings and pull them down faster than I could jump up in the air! We always are so anxious to see what we got. We always love what’s in them. One year I got toothpaste, and I didn’t even care! After that my parents wake up, and the minute they walk in the room you can hear a chorus of "Look what I got...Look what I got!" Next, my mom walks in the living room with the video camera, and we run to the Christmas tree. My sisters and I are chanting, "Which one is mine??? Which one is mine??" We find our gifts and say, "That’s just what I wanted! Thank you, Santa!" This is why I always look forward to Christmas morning with my family. Lauren Murphy

I like Christmas because it’s the most wonderful time of the year. I like candy canes, Christmas cookies, Christmas carols, and most of all presents. Nicholas Price

Every year, for as long as I can remember my family visited my Godmother Nina for Christmas. Her son Sandro is my best friend. We usually arrive to their house late at night. As we drive up to the house, we see that it is decorated with Christmas lights. My brother and I jump out of the car and run to ring the door bell. Sandro is already standing at the door in his furry slippers, waiting for us. We hurry in and the first thing we see is a beautiful Christmas tree. I love the fresh pine scent! I hear clinking and clanging from the kitchen where Sandro’s mom and Grandma are cooking festive dinner. They are baking delicious khachapuri. Khachapuri is a traditional Georgian meal. I love gooey cheese inside the soft flat bread. Yum! I can’t get enough of it. We run upstairs to play with Sandro’s toys in his playroom. Suddenly we hear a door bell! We rush downstairs yelling: Santa!!! Sandro yanks the door open...but nobody is there. I hang my head low but then I see...PRESENTS! Santa left us presents on a doorstep. We are excited and can’t wait to open our gifts. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. Christmas is coming, and I can’t wait to go to Sandro’s this year to celebrate! Michael Odintsov

Ever since I was little I’ve enjoyed all of my Christmases so far. In fact, I always will. I’ve enjoyed the tree, the star, putting the decorations up, the lights, the music, the merriness and happiness, the gifts, the Santa swap and the food. One of the things I like best is bringing joy to others. You should try it. It makes you feel good. You be nice, or else you’ll get karma. Karma is when you’re nice and then something good happens. When you do something bad, something bad happens. If you are bad all year you get coal, but if you are good you get presents. That’s karma. Bringing joy to others and helping others are the best things you can do for Christmas. That’s my favorite Christmas tradition. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Skylar Breeden

My favorite Christmas tradition is when we set up the Christmas tree. When we get the Christmas tree from downstairs pine needles fall out. Our Christmas tree is very old. Then, we get the ornaments. There are many ornaments. Crash! An ornament falls and breaks. We clean up the broken glass. Finally, we get to put on the ornaments. It looks great when we finish. Just one more thing ... the angel! We set the angel on the tippy top of the Christmas tree. "Meow!" The cat is under the special tree. I laugh. This Tradition is FUN! Have a very Merry Christmas!!! John Knauss

My favorite Christmas tradition is putting up the Christmas tree and putting the ornaments on it. The first thing we do in the morning is see what Santa brought us. Christmas morning Nana, Pops, Grandmother, Tim and Uncle Casey come to eat breakfast at my house. When we finish eating we show them what we got. We play with our toys. We go to Nana’s house, and our cousins come, too. We get lots of toys. We have lots of fun. Merry Christmas! Julia Cornwell

On Christmas Eve my family never opens presents, except for our Christmas pajamas that we get every year. Last year I got fighter helicopter pajamas that were made from silk. On Christmas Day we wake up around 2 a.m. to look from the balcony at all the presents. We have a big tree that makes the room sparkle! On Christmas morning if Santa didn’t eat all the cookies we eat the rest! I love doing that because I can really feel the Christmas spirit. Jake Hutchison

When I wake up I have to wait on my sister to wake up, and my dad and mom. When my sister, Ashley, wakes up we look first in our stockings, and then we open our presents. We read who the presents came from, and then we put our things in a pile. When we’re done we have to pick up our scraps, and then my dad takes us to our papa’s and grandma’s house, and everybody in our family comes. Everybody gets one, two or three presents. Christmas is my first favorite holiday because we get presents, and we celebrate with our family. Joshua Barnett

Hi, my name is Brianna, but you can call me Anna. My favorite Christmas tradition is putting up the Christmas tree with my mom and my brother, Paul. We always put the tree up on a sunny day. We put up the tree while my dad is at work. My mom waits until I get home from school to put up the tree. She never puts up the tree without me. We start after I finish my homework. First, we go to the shed to get the tree. The tree is very heavy, so have to work together. I go open the back door so we can get in. Paul holds the door so it doesn’t close while we try to get in. Now the hard part is over. We run back out to get the ornaments. Paul is still holding the door as we run in with the ornaments. He shuts the door after mom and I get in. Next, we assemble the tree. It’s very hard to assemble the tree. It takes FOREVER. Soon, I go to my room to get the porcelain ornaments while Mom puts up other ornaments. The ones from the shed go on bottom, and the ones from my room go on the top. It takes one or two hours to finish. Last, but not least, my mom puts the Rainbow Light Tinkerbell on top of the tree. It looks beautiful. When my dad gets home he says mom and I did good. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Brianna Lynn Cadle

My family’s Christmas traditions are very exiting and fun. First, we have to take a very long trip of about 36 hours to Cuaracurio, Mituacan, which is in Mexico. We go there to see our grandfathers and grandmothers because we have a tradition in which we try our best to be with our family. We celebrate like this because for us the main thing about Christmas is that you should treat everybody the same, even if you don’t like them. When we arrive in Presious Cuara, we always go to my dad’s mom’s house first, which is connected to the temple. We go to the temple and give thanks to God for letting us arrive safely. After that the excitement starts! The very first tradition we have is called a Posada. In the Posada a boy from our pueblo dresses up like Jesus, and a girl from our pueblo dresses up like Mary. We walk behind them singing songs. When we arrive to where the Posada is going to be, we sit down and pray. When we finish praying, we go through a door in which a person is giving bags of candy to the people that came. The posada last for about 8-10 days. We do this because it is a way to celebrate Jesus and Mary. Another tradition we have is called a Castillo. A Castillo is like a type of big, skinny tower with lots of fireworks. At night they turn on the fireworks, and it looks beautiful. We have three or four Castillos. The last tradition we have is at the end of the year. First, we get ready and go to our grandfather’s house. At night we head on to walk with the rest of the people that are going to the parade. Usually everybody in the pueblo goes to the parade. We walk with bells almost all around the pueblo, and then we go to the place were the biggest Castillo is going to be held. We watch as they turn it on. After the Castillo is over we go to the temple where four people are going to carry two baby Jesuses. When they start to carry the two baby Jesuses covered with colorful blanket, we light some fireworks, ones you can hold in your hand without getting burned, to honor God for all the things he has done for us. At the end of the celebration we go to a house to eat. The celebration is so fun. These are the celebrations we have. For us they are so excited and fun. Everybody has different celebrations, but for me my celebrations are the best. Alejandro Cornejo

First we go to the living room to open presents. When we are finished we have a big breakfast. Next, we play with our toys until lunch. At lunch we clean the dish of milk and cookies that Santa had eaten. Then we eat the ham, carrots and some cake. Then we play with our toys until dinner. At dinner we eat the rest of the ham and turkey, salad,and cake. Then we go to bed. these are my Christmas traditions. Chloe Allana Tilton

"T’was the night before Christmas" is a very different tale if you read it in Cajun the way I do! It’s not really a different language; it’s just hard to understand. After that we go to one of my aunt’s or uncle’s houses for a Christmas party. My mom’s side of the family has done this since before I was born. We (AKA "all the kids") draw names to decide who to give presents to on Christmas Eve, but siblings have to wait until Christmas morning. When we get home we put baby Jesus in the manger and put out eggnog and cookies for Santa. Then my brother, sister, and I crowd into Sissy’s bed and watch a movie. After we wake up really early, we run to the living room to check out our presents from Santa and from each other. We especially want to see presents from Ma’e and Aunt Cathy. Then it’s clean up time! Skylar Chamness

On Christmas we like to get up early for breakfast. We normally eat pancakes. Then we open our presents. Then we go in the kitchen and write thank you cards. This year we are going to Utah to see my mom’s side of the family. I am excited to go to Utah. Emily Hutchinson

My favorite part of Christmas is the presents, putting up the Christmas tree, and decorating the Christmas tree. I will go toPennsylvania for Christmas for a week. I love Christmas. Ben Miller

On Christmas I go to my grandmother’s house. We call her Mim. We get presents because we were not there on Christmas Eve. Grandpa John has three Christmas trees. These are my favorite Christmas things. Anwyn Shanahan

Every Christmas our family comes to our house, and we all give presents to each other. Then we eat ham and turkey, and then we go to our aunt’s house. We celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Then we go back to my aunt’s house to open presents. Christmas is my first favorite holiday in the world.Jennifer Vazquez

First, my family wakes up on Christmas Eve, and we eat breakfast and clean up. Second, we make sure we have everyone a present. If we do, we gather them and ride around and go to visit the people whose names are on the nametags. By then it’s about lunchtime, so we eat lunch. Third, we go to my uncle and aunt’s house. We also eat, and we open presents there, too. After a little while we go home and go to bed .The next morning I wake up and scream, "It’s here! It is Christmas!" I open all my toys, and after that I usually play with my wonderful, fabulous TOYS. That’s my Christmas tradition. Brinsley Bagley

My favorite Christmas tradition is when on Christmas Eve we finish dinner, we wash the dishes, and after that, we open presents. We always invite my Maw Maw over for Christmas. My Maw Maw and I go wait by the presents until my parents get there. When my parents get there, we start to hand out presents. When I get my presents, I rip off the wrapping paper. After that, we watch a movie. Then I go to bed. On Christmas morning, I wake up and go get my brother up. His name is Stephen. My mom makes me cover my eyes when I go up there because the presents are right there. Then Stephen and I come downstairs. Then I open my eyes. I see all my presents from Santa! I look at my presents, and I like them all. After that, my mom makes a special breakfast. Then I play with my presents. Usually we watch a Christmas movie. Then my brother and I go outside to throw a football. When Christmas is over I always think about doing the same thing next year, but the only different thing I will do the next year is I will get different presents. Ryan Ward

My favorite Christmas tradition is when we put up the Christmas tree and put on the ornaments. Santa brings my sisters and me presents. We play with our toys. Then we have a family gathering. Nana, Larry, Mimi, Papa, and lots of people come. It is fun. Kaitlyn Murphy

On Christmas I love going to my aunt and uncle’s house. Mom and I make apple pie and punch. Then we load it up and get in the car. We drive all the way to Jasper. We pull in the driveway of a white house with a tan roof. I get out and hug my aunt. She helps by bringing in the punch. Then we all sit at the table and eat. The smooth, brown table always looks long at Christmas. After we eat, my cousin, Anthony, and I go play football in the back yard. When we come in, we wash up and go open presents. Afterwards the shine on the tree fades, and my mom, my cousins, and I leave. We all say goodbye. I tell Mandy bye, too. Mandy is a dog. We start on our LONGER drive to my grandmother’s house. There we open more presents. Christmas is always fun. Tamryn Watters

My favorite tradition is when I put Christmas decorations on my mom’s Christmas tree and my grandma’s tree, too. When I grow up I am going to carry on the tradition. My mom and I are going to decorate our tree. We already decorated my grandma’s tree. When I decorate my mom’s tree I bet it will be fun. We might get a real Christmas tree. I am looking forward to that. I hope we can do that. Here’s a question. Do you have a real tree? That’s my favorite Christmas tradition. Will Smith

Every Christmas we have a traditional party. No one has been naughty. Everyone loves Mama’s homemade cake. Jackson Shaw

Every Christmas eve we take time to finish decorating our house. On Christmas morning we have a big breakfast. Then we watch TV. Next we hang out and talk. It’s finally Christmas night! We open presents, and then play with them. Next, we get ready for bed. Christmas in my favorite holiday. Riley Wallace

Every Christmas Eve we go to my Maw maw’s house. We eat finger foods and drink eggnog and soda. Next, we gather in her tiny living room to open presents. Everybody gets at least seven to eight presents. After we open presents we go home. We put cookies and milk out for Santa. On Christmas morning we get up and open more presents. Next we cook for my Nana and PaPa. After that we go to my Papa’s mom’s house and play Dirty Santa. That is why these are my favorite Christmas traditions. I’m looking forward to another good Christmas. I hope Santa is good to me, and I hope Santa is good to you, too. Merry Christmas! Alex Harrison

My favorite Christmas memory was on a very fine Christmas morning when I woke up, and I was so very sleepy that I even forgot that it was Christmas morning. I went back to sleep again, ignoring Christmas morning. When it was 12 p.m., my little sister jumped on top of me with her pajamas, and I shouted, "HEY! What was that for?" I asked my little sister. "Hello, it’s Christmas morning, Mayko!" my little sister told me. I was very concerned because I woke up the right time to open my presents. I went to my living room, and I saw 34 presents under the Christmas tree! I was very happy that Santa Claus brought presents for me and all my family. All my family and I ran to our Christmas tree. We opened our presents. I opened my presents, and I got a Play Station 2. My sister got a dollhouse, and so did my little sister. My dad got a soccer ball for Christmas, and my mom got a wonderful dress for Christmas. We all had more presents to open. My dad said, "What are we waiting for?" "Let’s open our presents!’ my mom told us. So we all started to open our presents. We all had very much fun opening our presents. That is my favorite Christmas memory. Merry Christmas, everyone! (Feliz Navidad) Mayko Calmo

When Christmas comes we get some cookies from my nanny’s house. We eat some food, and then we go home. When we get home we get out the milk and cookies. In the morning I always go in the kitchen to see if Santa Claus ate the cookies and drank the milk. After I check to see, I go wake my mommy, and then we go in the living room to open presents. My mommy brings the camera, too. She gets a trash bag to put all the wrapping paper in. After we are done opening gifts, we go over my nanny’s house and everybody is there. Then we open more presents there. Next, we eat and maybe play some games, and then we leave. I always have a FUN Christmas with my family. P.S. I LOVE Christmas!!!! DeMya Bryan

Do you have a family tradition? Well, I do. Let me tell you about my family traditions. What we do is we go to Tennessee to see my grandfather. We travel about four and a half hours to get to his house. Before we leave we have to pack very warm clothes to wear because it is cold in Tennessee when it is winter. When we get to Tennessee it is almost always around noon, if we leave at about 7 in the morning. Then, when we get there, we unpack our stuff. Next, we eat lunch, and our cousins come over. At about 6 p.m. our cousins leave. Since we like to go to Tennessee on Christmas Eve, the next day is Christmas! That night we put out cookies and milk for Santa, and we go to bed. The next day when we wake up the cookies and milk are gone! One time I stayed up till 12 a.m. But, too bad for me. Santa came after 12 because I never saw him. On Christmas day Abby (my sister) and I go feed a horse named Spike. We do lots of other cool stuff. About two days later it’s time for us to leave, so we pack our bags and go home. Now you know my Christmas tradition! What’s yours? Caroline Young

Every Christmas morning we get up and give each other gifts. Then we go to Grandpa’s house. The whole family eats biscuits, gravy, fried chicken, sausage and bacon. Then we gather around the tree, and one of use give out presents. After we open all of the presents we play with them. After an hour we take all the wrapping paper and throw it away. There are 11 of us, and we get more than one present, so that’s a lot of paper! We load it all up and go home and play with some and put the rest up. Then we wait ‘till next year! Nic Bray

My favorite Christmas tradition starts out with getting the tree! We walk around a big field that’s filled with Christmas trees, looking for the perfect tree. When we finally find it a man cuts the tree, and we take it home and set it up. When it’s finally Christmas Eve we have hot cocoa and go to bed. When we wake up we eat, and then we open all the presents and look in our stockings! I play with my toys all day and have a great Christmas! Lily Chesnut

On Christmas Eve we always go to my great grandma Bowen’s house. We get together on my mom’s side of the family and have an early Christmas. My mom and grandma make dressing, turkey, cranberry sauce, and rolls. Once we are done eating we go in the living room and open presents. After that McKenzie, Dayton, and I go in my grandma’s yard and play football 1 vs. 2. Next, we say goodbye to everyone and drive home. When we are going home we ALWAYS go to Cracker Barrel. When we get home we give our dog its regular bone it always gets for Christmas. Before we go to bed we ALWAYS open a present on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we open our presents and go to Nanny’s house. We get presents from our Nanny, and my cousins come over and play. These are my favorite Christmas traditions. Bo Crick

My family on my dad’s side always trades names, but on my mom’s side we get numbers. On my dad’s side we write down what we want for Christmas and give it to the host, and then he or she will give them out during Thanksgiving. Then they have to buy a present for that person. On my mom’s side on Christmas we get numbers and get the present that has that number on it. It is always fun to see who has whose name. Blakely Herod

Every Christmas Eve I go to bed really late. About the time I lay down, I hear the attic door open right outside my bedroom door. It creaks so loud it is practically impossible not to hear. In the morning I wake up extremely early. I mean, we’re talking 6:30 in the morning! That is very early for a 9-year-old boy. Well, every Christmas morning I sprint into the family room. It is filled with presents! My parents say that I have to wait for everybody to get up before I can open my presents. They say it would he unfair for me to open presents when everybody is asleep. When everybody wakes up, we eat breakfast. We have egg and cheese biscuits. Then we go to the family room and open our presents. We each take turns so each of us opens one present at a time. The next place we go is my grandmother and grandfather’s house to have lunch. My whole family that is on my mom’s side is there. Everybody brings a dish so we can have a buffet. There are appetizers and desserts. After lunch we all sit down around the Christmas tree and open our presents. After that my family goes with my step dad to his sister’s house. She has mac and cheese, rolls, meat, and all kinds of stuff. After dinner we all go to the Christmas tree and open our presents. The next day I go to my dad’s house in the morning. I eat breakfast there. It might be breakfast burritos, or it might he bacon, eggs, toast, and cheesy grits. If I can go to my papa’s house then my presents will be there. But if I can’t go there, then my presents are at my dad’s house. The last place I go is my dad’s mom’s house. She cooks dumplings and fried liver. It is so good. After lunch we open our presents. Last year I got a thick sleeping bag and a laptop. I have a big Christmas!! Matthew Hines

Every Christmas Eve my family, including my cousins, gathers together to do something called "Secret Santa" and "Santa Trade." The kids do Secret Santa, where you write your name on a piece of paper and put it in a basket. You then shake the basket and take out a name, and whoever’s name you get you give that person a present. Next comes the Santa Trade, where parents always just buy presents. They don’t know who’s going to get that present, but they still buy one. Once they buy the presents they gather together to start. First, parents pick out a number. If they get the biggest number and don’t like their present they can trade with whoever they want, but if you have the lowest number you can’t trade with anyone unless they trade with you. If you get the lowest number you are likely to get the WORST present! I can’t wait until this Christmas Eve and hope it’s as good as other years. I love my Christmas traditions. Erick Luna

On Christmas my family loves to decorate the house, and we have a great feast with turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I like the steamy ham. We also love to get a lot of presents, and all of us get together so we can love each other. All of our pets get some presents, too, like bones, sweaters and blankets. I think Christmas is the best holiday, because I love it. This year is going to be the best Christmas ever. Irvyn N. Rivera

My favorite Christmas tradition is when my mom, my sister, and I put lights in all the little houses that we collect. We have this stair-like table, and we put the houses on the table. On the bottom part it is like the first Christmas. On the second one is like the Middle Ages Christmas. And finally on the top is like our present-time Christmas. In the small houses we put little lights in them, and it makes them glow. On Christmas Day right before we open our gifts my mom, my sister, and I put little lights in the houses, so it’s like we’re traveling through time. After that my mom, my sister, and I go get three statues for each part of the display. The first one we put is on the bottom part, so we put a baby Jesus there. On the second we put a middle-aged Jesus statue and on the top one we put a grown up Jesus. Then we all sit down and open our gifts from oldest to youngest.Kimberly Santacruz

I like all of my family’s traditions, but the one I like the most is the one where my sisters, my brother, and I try to guess what we got from Santa Claus. Each year when we try to guess what Santa brought we always get it wrong. This Christmas I’m going try to guess right. We always sit around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and try to guess what we got from Santa, and then on Christmas we open them to see if we were right. I really like this tradition because it’s really fun trying to guess what Santa brought us. Sergio Vazquez Santillian

Every year, we put up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. My mom, my sister, and I decorate the tree and set up all of our ornaments. My dad sets up the Christmas village. We put out wreaths on our front windows. We hang stockings by the fireplace. They were made by my grandmother. I usually open gifts from my parents on Christmas Eve and presents from the rest of my family on Christmas Day after lunch. On Christmas morning, I wake up extra early. Then I wake up my mom. She always tells me to go back to sleep. That’s not possible for me. Once I’m awake, I’m awake. Nothing’s going to change it. I keep looking at my toys and keep trying to wake my mother up! One tradition we have is that we have an Advent Christmas tree that we add ornaments to every day until Christmas. This year, I have my own- a Lego Advent calendar. I get to build something every day! Matt Boyd

Every Christmas my family has many traditions. A few days before Christmas we go to Nashville, Tennessee, to visit my grandfather. We finally get there after four hours of sitting in the car. Once it’s Christmas Eve, my mom lets Caroline and me open one present. While we are opening our presents, my mom starts baking cookies. Once the cookies are done we eat a few. After eating the cookies we put two cookies, two carrots and milk near the fireplace for Santa. When I was little I used to try to stay up and catch Santa. Then on Christmas Day we open our presents, and then we empty our stockings. On Christmas our friends Marty and Danny come over, and we exchange presents. Since our friends are coming over, we have to clean up my grandfather’s messy living room. We come back home a few days after Christmas. Then our dad drives us around, and we look at all the beautiful Christmas lights and decorations. Twelve days after Christmas we take down the Christmas tree. I can’t wait for this Christmas! Abby Young



My family has many holiday traditions. Every year we go to Alabama on Christmas Eve to eat and open gifts. The rush getting ready to get there is such a hassle, but I have to do it. I dress nice and warm for the half hour drive. When I get there it is all hugs and hellos. The lines are long because there are so many people and so much food to choose from, and it takes forever to get everything. Then my cousins and I open our gifts from each other. The grown-ups play a game called Dirty Santa. That is a game where you buy random gifts, and you get to steal other’s presents. Sleepy, my dad and I get in the car and drive back home. We listen to Christmas songs, and we just talk. When we get home I am tired so I head straight to bed. The next morning my mom and my dad watch and take pictures of me opening presents. I can just see the red and green wrapping paper and bows fly across^-the room! My tree is right beside my window so it always catches my attention because I can see the reflection of the lights and shiny ornaments against the glass. The house is quiet while everyone looks at the reaction on my face. Afterwards I head to my mom’s family’s house. I eat there, too, and I have a blast with my four and five year old cousins, Chandler and Austin. Many people have traditions that they may like or dislike. I happen to like all mine and have a fun following them. I hope many more are brought into my family. Aaliyah Lewis

Every December my family has many Christmas traditions. Here are a few of them. Our first tradition is that we go to our church a few days before Christmas for the Christmas nativity. I am always the littlest angel because I’m only ten. Since I’m the littlest angel I’m usually only out for fifteen minutes, but you can stay out for the full thirty minutes. If you want to see the Christmas nativity, drive by Trinity United Methodist Church on Shorter Avenue anytime during the week before Christmas, starting at about seven o’clock to nine o’clock. If you do you’ll see the Christmas nativity. Another family tradition is that on Christmas Eve my grandmother and grandfather come up for Christmas. We go to the candlelight service. The next day we open presents and celebrate Christmas. On the twenty-sixth my grandparents usually go home, and on the 27th we go up to their house in North Carolina to have Christmas with my mom’s side of the family. Then we stay up through New Year’s so we can have our usual New Year’s party. It’s always a blast. I love the Christmas season! Ally Campbell

My favorite family traditions lay in this letter. One of my favorite things to do is bake sugar pecans with my mom. I love to eat them. They are brown with a sugary coat. I also like to play with the leftover wrapping paper. It is so colorful like parts of rainbows shooting through the air. I hear laughing and screaming. One thing I love to do, and everyone else who gets gifts, is go play with them! Another thing I do is go visit family. The trip there is so long! Just kidding, since it’s only 45 minutes, but it seems longer because I’m accepting gifts. I walk in the house that smells like pine and has a small tree with lots of gifts under it. After opening the presents more paper is flying through the air. Then we decide which ones we will keep there and which ones I will take home. It is a hard decision, but once it’s made, it’s made. Then we eat things like chicken and sweets. Next we have to go to visit more family who are fifteen to twenty minutes away from this place. The drive here isn’t very interesting. It isn’t really in the country, but it’s not very busy, either. When we get there we go straight to the presents, but by then it is time for some food. Again! We eat basically the same thing, but not as much. Afterward we hope it’s time for presents, and you would think since the same thing happens each year we would know it’s not time for presents yet, but we don’t. Then the grown ups talk while we kids jump on the trampoline, because we don’t have any family members that get snow. I mean like snow-snow. You know. when the snow lands on the ground and doesn’t melt! Oh well, but the time still passes quickly, but not quick enough. When the time finally comes we run inside and grab our presents and start ripping away. We aren’t allowed to throw paper here, but it is getting late by now so we need to go home in time for Christmas, and not just Christmas Eve, like today. We always make it home in time to eat a small snack if we can and then go to bed. I dream dreams about Christmas and all the presents I will get. I can hear them being set down, but I don’t get up. I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Then I go back to sleep. Before I know it, Christmas is here! We eat breakfast and sugar pecans. Present time is now. We open our gifts and the past seems to repeat itself. Again we are laughing, screaming, and throwing paper. After the whole day of playing, right before I go to sleep, I realize how much I’m glad to have my family because without them I wouldn’t have gotten the gifts, and without the gifts Christmas wouldn’t have been very good, but it still would have been a kind of Christmas. I know I am happy and thankful. Hope you have a good Christmas and to all a good night. Kaitlyn M. Broadaway

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to eat ham like a pig on Christmas. I go to my Nanna and Pappa’s house and stuff myself with all I can eat But, to get to Nanna and Pappas we have to drive for two hours in the middle of the night! It is awesome on Christmas Eve at my house! I stay up………..not at all! I go to bed early, like 8:30! I dream of Bakugan and baseball stuff! I love Christmas morning! Our family wakes up at 6 am to see what Santa got us. We have a 10 o’clock breakfast, and then we head to Hanna and Pappa’s house for more presents! After lunch, we go to G’MAMMA and G’DADDY’S house for more presents! Dinner is always awesome on Christmas, including turkey, ham, and dressing. Then, we just go home. Our family traditions may not be like yours, but all I know is that they’re really fun!! Andrew Tallant

My Christmas begins with dinner of honey roasted ham, with a side of fresh biscuits and green beans. Then, we will have cherry pie for a Christmas traditional color, and it also reminds us of the Shepherd’s pie. Afterward, we will go to my church for the Christmas Eve program, where we will discuss the importance of Jesus Christ, our Savior. When we leave we will look around for Christmas lights. We always find a house with great, glittering lights. There we might find reindeer in the front, waving from side to side making a magnificent scene. Many small decorations will be scattered about, but the greatest one will be the sleigh, glowing red. When we go home we will sit around the tree and read the story of baby Jesus. By doing this, we will honor that He was born. Later, we will open one present of ours to represent that Jesus was born this night. Then, we will go to our beds and go to sleep, but we will be very eager for Christmas tomorrow! Charlotte Roberts

My favorite Christmas tradition is on Christmas Day. Once I wake up, if no one else is awake, I will go to every room and wake everyone up. Once everyone is awake, we go to the living room and start to open presents. I always start with the biggest gift because I can’t wait to see what is inside. We take turns opening presents because my mom doesn’t want us to see two presents at one time because it wouldn’t be fair to my sister and everyone else who gets presents. Once we’re done opening presents we eat a big dinner. After that my mom drives us to my grandmother’s house to eat a big dinner. There isn’t a specific meal we eat; we just eat various foods. We look forward to eating at her house because it is very good, and we never know what we’re going to eat. That is my favorite Christmas traditions, and we love doing it every year. Cage Floyd

Every Christmas I wake up my brothers, and then we wake up my mom and dad. Then we open presents all morning. Then at night we eat dinner. Jax Bray

On Christmas morning we open our presents and play with the toys. Luke Corbett

On Christmas we go to my grandmother’s house. Next, we go to see the lights. Last, we throw a party. Finally, we go to sleep, and the next morning it’s present time. Jaymon Lee