Drinking hot cocoa as “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” plays on the radio. Sitting by the fireplace on frosty winter days wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. Cutting open the turkey at the dinner table and drenching it in piping, hot gravy. The holidays often represent a heartwarming time to spend with family for students at Pinewood.
Junior Lacey Armistead spends the holidays with both her Hawaiian and Japanese side of the family as well as with her white side. Senior Autumn Porter-Schulz celebrates Christmas the night before by exchanging gifts with loved ones. Junior Violet Negrette and her family have a special spot to spend every holiday season. Sophomore Avery Hall views the holidays as a time to catch up with her extended family.
Armistead’s mom’s side of the family is Japanese but lives in Hawaii. They celebrate every Thanksgiving with a potluck, choosing to have a more casual lunch with a basketball game playing in the background.
“There’s spam musubi, ham, rice, jello, a fruit salad . . . and chips and dip,” Armistead said.
On the other hand, Armistead’s white side of the family celebrates with a much more traditional feast with classic Thanksgiving dishes like turkey and stuffing.
“For my dad’s side, it’s usually just a formal dinner,” Armistead said.
Porter-Schulz’s family has a German tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning.
“Who doesn’t love getting presents? But I really love giving presents, and being with my family and friends on Christmas is so rewarding,” Porter-Schulz said.
Sharing the same love for spending time with family on Christmas, Hall sees the holidays as family time. For both Christmas and Thanksgiving, she meets with her cousins, aunt and grandparents.
“We always come together, have a nice big dinner, and talk about our favorite memories together,” Hall said.
While the rest of her family devours the freshly cooked turkey made for Thanksgiving, Hall enjoys butternut squash ravioli instead due to being vegetarian. Hall’s family gathers around the dinner table with each other and bonds over their Thanksgiving feast.
“I really love Thanksgiving because I get to spend time with my family, and I’m so grateful for them,” Hall said.
In addition, Hall’s family travels every year to Utah, where they all celebrate Christmas together. They enjoy skiing in the winter snow, as well as sitting by the fireplace in her grandparents’ home.
“I would say I prefer Christmas over Thanksgiving because I really love skiing with my cousins, parents, aunt and brother,” Hall said.
Another student who enjoys traveling for the holidays is Negrette. Her family owns a cabin near Bear Valley, which she describes as a comfort place that she can always come back to. She also said that the cabin doesn’t have Wi-Fi, allowing her to focus on spending time with family.
“I think it is a better thing that the cabin doesn’t have internet because we spend the other eleven and a half months of our lives with a phone, so why not take two weeks off,” Negrette said.
While Pinewood students celebrate the holidays with unique traditions, one theme remains the same: spending time and making memories with loved ones.
“I love being able to spend time with my [extended] family, and we don’t live near each other, so being able to be close for just that week and a half is . . . I really love it,” Hall said.
