As Harper Teismann (10) gathered with her family around the table on Christmas Eve, as she’s already planning her strategies to unwrap the saran wrap ball. This game consists of a person trying to roll a dice for doubles while the person in front tries to find the end of the saran wrap and tug at it until items fall from the middle. When the next person gets a double, the ball is passed to the following person. The rising of emotions in the room creates a cheerful and competitive atmosphere among the group. As the dice scattered across the table, Teismann immediately started tugging at the wrap. The bright lights from the tree glistened and reflected off the plastic as she pulled it aggressively. When the gifts started falling from the ball, the Christmas spirit was really brought out.
During the holidays, Christmas traditions become a large part of the season. Many of the students at Highlands were able to share their memorable moments with their families and explain what it means to them. Traditions vary from family to family which is why each one is so special and unique.
Harper Teismann (10) explained a specific memory that stood out to her during her tradition that made the experience so special. That year, her family played the game in a new location, adding another layer to the challenge.
“When we were doing it at Tickle Pickle, and this one person was like unraveling the ball, and then it went, and it like flew off the table, and then people were still rolling the doubles. It was really tense,” Teismann (10) said.
Noah Gregory (11) shared his unique holiday tradition and what it means to him and his family. Him and his family, specifically his mom, like the popular band The Cranberries, which inspired the way they celebrate.
“She makes a serving of cranberries and puts it on the Christmas dinner, and then all of Christmas morning, we always play like a bunch of the Cranberries music…we call it the Cranberry Christmas,” Gregory (11) said.
Gregory also explained what this means to his family. What started as a love for a band, has turned into something that bonds their family every Christmas.
“It just means…tradition I guess…It’s just we don’t have a lot of traditions so the ones we do, it means a lot,” Gregory (11) said.
Ava Muzumdar (12) said that her and her family are usually pretty busy throughout the year which makes it hard to have time dedicated to traditions and spending time together. This helped inspire the family traditions that they complete.
“I just would make sugar cookies like with the cut outs and shapes and stuff. I feel like I’ve been doing that for a long time, it’s just like a fun little thing cause like my family is so busy and then we get to Christmas and it’s time that we get to do everything together,” Muzumdar (12) said.
Muzumdar also mentioned that her favorite part of her tradition was getting to spend time with her family because memories are so important to take in especially when they don’t last forever.
“It definitely means a lot because it is nice to have a lot of family time. Both me and my brother are involved in a lot of activities and my parents work a lot so when we get this time to kind of like be a family and doing all these things it is always really fun and the like Christmas it always has the spirit of christmas and it is always good to tie into cause I feel like all the things we do just make the holidays more fun,” Muzumdar (12) said.
Elijah Daly (9) has another very unique, annual tradition that takes place at their Christmas party. It involves fireworks and cake, an odd combination that leads to a memorable Christmas. They make it a group event that is fun for everyone there.
“My dad will go and buy a bunch of fireworks…we’ll find a parking lot or something, and set them off. …we’ll set up some kind of target and we’ll shoot candles at them sometimes. Then we’ll go eat ice cream cake…,” Daly (9) said.
Christmas is the best time to show your appreciation towards spending time together and there is no better way of celebrating than creating traditions that will last for generations. During these traditions, family is all that matters, even if it is just for a couple hours.
“It was kind of like..everyone was together and there wasn’t really anything else going on,” Muzumdar said (12).
