Secret Santa
Secret Santa has been a tradition in freshman Bella Carpenter’s household for four years.
“We didn’t want to have to get each person presents, and it was just easier this way,” Carpenter said.
She said her sister picks names out of a hat and emails each family member who his or her person is.
“Usually I get clothes, gift cards and candy,” she said. “You don’t get as many presents, but it’s fun seeing who your Secret Santa is.”
Carpenter said she hopes to continue this tradition with her own children someday.
“It has brought our family closer because you have to get to know the person to get them a good gift,” she said.
Pinterest Passion
Junior Aubrey Myer scrolls through the Pinterest home feed to choose the gifts she will make for her friends and family during the holiday season.
“I make my own gifts because it’s cheaper and easy when you don’t know what to get people,” Myer said.
She said she enjoys making homemade gifts because she feels like it adds a personal touch to the gift.
“It seems like you put more effort into it if you made the gift yourself,” she said. “It’s worth the time because you can tell people like them.”
Myer said she has already found some recipes she is excited to try and is planning to make her “little sister” on the Blue Valley Cheerleading team a homemade gift as well.
Pajama Party
Sophomore Sydney Kampschroeder and her family are continuing an old tradition of buying each other pajamas for Christmas.
“On Christmas Eve, we give pajama pants or pajamas to sleep in,” Kampschroeder said. “My dad did it growing up, so we just continued it.”
Kampschroeder said she enjoys this family tradition and hopes to carry it on for many generations.
“It’s special to pick [the pajamas] out with your family members, and it’s fun to wear them when we open presents the next morning,” she said.
Warm and Fuzzy
To some, fuzzy socks are just a way to keep your feet warm in the winter, or a great accessory to wear under Ugg Boots, but to sophomore Saleeha Soofi and her family, they are the traditional Christmas present.
“Every Christmas, we give each other fuzzy socks,” Soofi said. “By the end of it we have socks from each family member.”
Soofi said the tradition started a couple years ago when all of her family got each other fuzzy socks by accident.
“We used to do Secret Santa,” she said. “We all opened our presents and we all got fuzzy socks for each other. It was a total coincidence, so we decided we would just get each other fuzzy socks every year.”