It’s December people, and you know what that means. Here, I’ll give you a hint: last minute shopping, family reunions, and spending money to make other people happy. That’s right, it’s Christmas time. Now, not everybody celebrates and that is completely fine.

If you do celebrate, you probably have this family tradition you do every year. Maybe you go see a movie, you play secret Santa, open one present on a different day, etc, etc. We all celebrate differently, but that’s what makes it special.

It also means it’s time to get decorating. Now it doesn’t matter if you decorate or not, but it sure is fun. You could keep it on the down-low and put up a tree and some string lights outside. You could do the bare minimum and put up a tree. Or you can go all out like one of my neighbors and put up inflatables, a light show, a whole scene. (For people that do that, I pray for your electricity bill). You could just not decorate, and that’s fine too. Everyone does it differently.

You can’t forget about gifts. Praying for everyone’s wallet this year, especially the parents. Whether you get gifts or give gifts, it’s all really expensive, but that isn’t the point. Maybe you asked for a new PlayStation or XBOX, or games for them. You could’ve asked for books, clothes, a car, whatever. The point is, you get to spend time with family, and that’s what makes the holiday special. So make sure you get your parents something nice this year.

I took a survey to see how different people celebrate and there were some amazing responses. One student said their family watches the Harry Potter series around Christmas every year. Another student responded, “Me and my brothers watch the Phineas and Ferb Christmas episodes on Christmas Eve.” A majority of responses included, but are not limited to, putting their tree up, playing dirty Santa, making cookies, going to the movies, and spending time with family.

There are people who travel to spend the holidays with family or go on vacation. If you are traveling this year, I do want to remind you to follow the COVID restrictions set to make sure you stay safe. It would suck being sick during the holidays. I’ve been there before, it isn’t fun.

However you celebrate, if you do celebrate, make sure you stay safe these holidays.