With the holidays approaching, many are starting up their yearly traditions again. From baking cookies with family to volunteering for the community, everyone has their own special ways of celebrating.
Freshman Griffin Kite finally has a home to call his own this Christmas.
“We just got into a real house…so we’re really actually celebrating Christmas now,” Kite said. “At our condos, it wasn’t really as big of a Christmas. I’m not saying it was bad, but it just wasn’t as much presents and not as much decorating.”
Christmas is a big deal for Kite’s family. They put up their decorations right as Halloween ended to get the most out of the little time there is before Christmas arrives.
Decorating isn’t the only thing Kite’s family does to celebrate the holidays. They also go to Huntsville to celebrate with Kite’s mom’s family. “
I have a second Christmas with my mom’s side of the family, it’s called our Chittenden Christmas,” Kite said.
He said he always looks forward to seeing all the family on his mom’s side.
Visiting family isn’t just a tradition for the Kite family, but also for the Bowmans.
“We always go to a holiday party at my mom’s cousin’s house,” senior Sadie Bowman said.
Bowman also celebrates the holidays by enjoying various foods.
“We make this thing called a candy cane danish,” said Bowman, who also added that she wants to start baking cookies with her mom every year.
For some people, it isn’t about the decorations and the baking, but giving back to the community. Senior Riley Dougherty celebrates the holidays by doing an adopt-a-family event.
“We basically adopt a sibling set that is underprivileged, and we give them their Christmas wish list and make their Christmas dreams come true,” Dougherty said.
For Christmas, Dougherty’s mother, grandmother and sister all get together to celebrate. With her sister just recently married, Dougherty looks forward to seeing her during the holidays.
“And it’s really interesting to see how we’re both growing up and yet still come together on special moments and special days,” she said.
It’s not only coming together as a family, but as a community to Dougherty.
“I think just everyone coming together as a community and the community kind of shifts into more of, like, a winter energy is just such an amazing thing to experience,” she said.
