Our Holiday Traditions
Savannah Snow, President
Christmas in our household is… unconventional at best. Neither my partner or I are big Christmas people and his daughter is old enough now that we don’t feel the need to do a whole lot in terms of Christmas magic. We don’t have a tree – instead we have a photo of Jesus in corpse paint that we lovingly refer to as “Black Metal Jesus” that goes up with a few lights and dollar store Christmas decorations, much to the horror of my mother. I have been avoiding the topic of Christmas with her because I am certain if she finds out we still don’t have a tree, she will order one and send it to our house. We do Christmas dinner, as my partner and I both love to cook. His mother typically throws a large family Christmas dinner and she is a phenomenal cook, so we go to her house at some point. Overall, Christmas tends to sneak by without any fanfare – and we like it that way!
Alex Fuiten, Vice President Academic
My holiday traditions tend to be in many respects similar to others celebrating Christmas. I watch Elf a few times, with Christmas Vacation thrown in for good measure. I drink an excessive amount of eggnog and eat way too much turkey when we sit done for Christmas dinner. I have also worked enough retail in my life that when I hear the first couple of notes of Mariah Carey, I immediately want to leave the store. Though the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas will always put me in a good mood. What likely makes my holiday traditions different are the little things. Yes, I decorate a tree, but I also use a mitten as a tree topper, the mitten also happens to change every year. This started as a joke with my fiancé our first year living together and is probably the holiday tradition I most look forward to. The Night Before Christmas is read but my mom still is the one reading to us, I’m 34. On boxing day, we play hockey, but I have enough family in the area that it becomes a family hockey tournament. Regardless of what you celebrate during this holiday season, enjoy and embrace the little things that make your time special.
Erin Bast, Vice President External
When I think about our family holiday traditions I think of my children. The sparkle of the holiday season shines so much brighter with them around. The magic and wonder of Christmas that they get to experience is so exciting for me to be a part of.
We normally attend a Christmas Eve Party every year. This will be our first time hosting this year but we are still in the process of moving so if we choose to move forward with it, it will be a small one. The Christmas Eve Party is something that our kids really enjoy. They run around and play with their friends, sneaking back to the TV to see where Santa’s at in the world, grab a quick snack and go back to playing all while my hubby and I hang out with our friends and family and catch up. I really value this time with my loved ones because my personal life has taken a back seat since being a student and trying to balance work and life.
Over Covid, my immediate family and I started a new tradition of cooking a crab and lobster meal for Christmas instead of turkey. Don’t get me wrong, we love a turkey supper but Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close that we sometimes are all turkeyed out! So on Christmas Day we do crab, lobster, and twice baked potatoes…YUM! And on New Years Day, we cook a traditional turkey supper with cherry cheesecake.
Another one of our traditions is getting pictures with Santa!! Even over Covid, we did pictures of the kids with Santa online – they even got to chat with him! My favourite is always the crying toddlers with Santa, it’s just so dang cute! I get my kids all dressed up and we make an evening out of it and pick up any last minute gifts from the mall. I just love the vibe of the mall at night during Christmas!
No matter how you all celebrate the holiday seasons, enjoy them! Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays from the SA team!