Second-graders share holiday traditions
Second-grade students in Kimberly Mitchell’s class at Colebrookdale Elementary School wrote letters sharing their holiday traditions. They are as follows:
Christmas Village — Isabella Balasa
Every year I am excited to visit Christmas Village. There are lots of people and Christmas trees and it is really pretty. Me, my dad, my mom, and my sisters Emma and Autumn. After that we eat some cookies then we buy some stockings. Then we play in the snow I made a snowman and a snow angel. We also make a paper snowflake. After making the snowflake we have hot cocoa with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. Finally we go home. I love to go to Christmas Village. I can’t wait to go back this year.
Going to Mom Mom’s House — Alexis Bruno
My Christmas tradition is going to Mom mom’s house on Christmas Eve every year. When we get there we gives hugs and say hi. Then we sit down and watch TV for a little. While I am watching TV Mom mom makes breakfast. She always makes the best pancakes. After breakfast we watch “The Grinch”. After the movie we go outside and play tag. Then we go back inside and play with the dogs. After some time we have to put the dogs downstairs to rest and play hide and seek and a bunch of other games. Then it is lunch time. After lunch we go back to watching TV. Then we go out to get ingredients for dinner. When we get back Mom mom and her boyfriend make dinner. They make hamburgers on the grill. After dinner we watch more TV and I play with my cousins more. Finally, we go back home and go to bed. This tradition makes me very happy and I am excited to do it again this year!
Milk and Cookies — Carter Downer
One of my favorite parts of Christmas is making cookies with my family. My mom and I go to Pop pop’s house to make cookies. When we get there we take out all the stuff from the car to make the cookies. We make my favorite cookies, chocolate chip. We all take turns putting the ingredients into the mixing bowl. I get to stir all the ingredients together, that’s a lot of fun! My Pop Pop puts the dough on the cookie sheets. Then mom gets puts them in the oven and takes them out when they are done. My favorite part is I get to lick the extra batter off the spoon! YUM! When the cookies cool down we get to eat some of them. I like to dunk them in milk. Finally we put out a cup of milk and a plate of our cookies for Santa.
Decorating the Tree — Mackenzie Fritchman
Christmas fun for me is decorating the tree. First, Mommy puts up the tree in the living room. She doesn’t let me help because she is worried I will put the wrong branch in the wrong place. The tree takes a long time to put together. When the tree is all put up it’s even taller than Mommy! Next Mommy puts the lights on the tree. After that we get to put the ornaments on the tree. My favorite ornament is the snowman that has, “Babies First Christmas,” on it! Then we put on the silver garland. Finally, we put the star on top. Mommy does that job because I am too short! We pray to God and put out the cookies for Santa Claus then we go to sleep. I feel super excited to decorate the tree every year!
Watching a Christmas Movie — Abigale Graber
My Christmas tradition is watching “The Grinch” with my family every year. We always eat popcorn with lots butter on it. It tastes so good! We all laugh during the funny parts in the movie. When the movie is done we talk about it and my dad tells us funny jokes. This makes my sister, Lydia, and I very happy. When we go to our rooms for bed my mom and dad give both of us a hug and kiss. Sometimes I get so excited that I can’t fall asleep. I love watching “The Grinch” with my family so much, we always have tons of fun.
Christmas at Grammy’s — Shawn Griffin
For my Christmas tradition I go to my Grammy’s house. At Grammy’s house my cousins, Miles and Jane, Grammy, and I play lots of games like checkers, trouble, and I spy. I normally win when we play games. After we play games we all sit down to watch “The Grinch”. I eat fruit snacks and drink a cup of milk while I watch the movie. After the movie we eat dinner. Grammy makes cheeseburgers and french-fries. They are always super delicious! Then we eat chocolate and strawberry cake and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. After dessert we get ready for bed. Grammy tucks me in to sleep. I love going to Grammy’s house for Christmas every year, it is so much fun!
Decorating the Christmas Tree — Jeffrey Herbst
Me and my family love Christmas, but for us it’s not about the presents. For my family and me, it is about spending time together. First we get in the van and go to a place with lots of Christmas trees. We pick the biggest tree we can find. We take the tree home and decorate it. I put the lights on the tree. Arri, my sister, puts the icicles on the tree. Nora, my other sister, puts the snowflake on the tree. My mom and Trin, my other sister, put the angel on the tree. It is a lot of fun to decorate the tree. I know it’s going to be a good Christmas.
Decorating the Christmas Tree — Ike Lezoche
My favorite Christmas tradition is decorating the Christmas tree. First we put the lights on the tree, there are many different colors of lights. Then we put the ornaments on the tree. Most of my ornaments are colorful balls, but there are some special ones that I made in school. My favorite ornament is the penguin I made in first grade. We put the star on last. The star is white and really bright. When the tree is finished we celebrate by cheering. I love decorating the Christmas tree it is so much fun.
My Christmas — Adrianna Middleton
My favorite Christmas tradition is on Christmas Eve. My Aunt Nicole, Uncle Jake, and cousin Aaliyah come over to our house. One of the first things we do is decorate the Christmas trees. The parents put the big tree up in the living room. My sister and I have a little trees in our bedrooms that we decorate. Once we finish decorating our little trees we go out to the living room and we get to help decorate the big tree. We get to put on the ornaments that we made when we were little. My favorite part is when my sister and I get to stand on the table to put the star on the top of the tree! We never get to stand on the table except for putting the star on the tree. Then we get to bake some cookies for Santa. We get to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to make Christmas trees and reindeer. It is so much fun! Then we milk and cookies on a plate for Santa. Then it is time for us to get into our jammies and go to bed. I can’t wait for Christmas Eve this year!
Christmas Movie — Sarah Rowland
“Christmas Vacation” is my mom’s and my favorite Christmas movie, I watch it every year. We always watch it in the Family room. My sister sits on the little couch, me my Mom and my Dad sit on the big couch and my dog lays on his bed. During the movie we eat snacks like popcorn and candy. We always laugh so much at the funny parts. My favorite part is when rats run around the guy and he gets electrocuted and when the guy gets stuck in the attic. It makes me happy when I get to spend time with my sister, Ashley, my mom, my dad, and my dog Rico.
Decorating the Christmas Tree — Trevor Schlichter
My favorite part of Christmas is decorating the tree. Before we decorate, we have to set up tree. It is a fake tree, so Mommy and I have to pull apart the branches. Once all the branches are apart we start decorating it. We put candy canes and ornaments. The ornaments are round and lots of different colors. My mom has an ornament that looks like a peanut with a head in it, she got it from her mom. Then my dad lifts me up to put the star on the tree. After that the tree is finished and I feel great.
Decorating the Tree — Mya Schondelmaier
Once every year, before Christmas, Daddy surprises me by getting out the Christmas tree ornaments. When Daddy and I decorate the tree I have so much fun. First Daddy puts the lights on the tree. Then I get to start putting the ornaments on. I made lots of ornaments that are special. I made a snowflake, a reindeer, a snowman, and a penguin. Daddy puts on the icicles because he thinks I will drop them and break them. He also puts the glass angels on the tree. Last he puts the star on the tree. Then we turn the lights on and sing “Jingle Bells” together. I am always excited to do this every year!
Looking at the Lights — Kiana Speaker
My favorite tradition is looking at lights with the rest of my family. My dad, mom, my brother, Shane, and me. My dad usually drives us around the neighborhood. We also drive to other places looking at the lights and decorations too. My mom makes a scavenger hunt for my brother and me. The scavenger hunt is awesome and fun. First we get in the car. My mom gives us copies of the scavenger hunt paper. When we find something we check it off. Sometimes mom and dad help. Some of the things on the list we look for are bells, holly, Santa, reindeers, and wreaths. I think the hardest one to find is the wreath. My brother usually finds it first. We always have such a blast! I can’t wait to do it again this year! I hope I complete the hunt first this year and beat my brother!
Christmas at my House — AJ Tomaselli
My favorite family tradition is spending time with my family!
On Christmas Eve night Go Go, Ba Ba, Aunt G, and Uncle Ray come over to our house. Dad, Mom, my little sister Evie, and I are so excited when they get to our house. We all hang out together until it gets dark. I read, “The Night Before Christmas” to Evie. Then we all go outside to shoot my foam and plastic arrow that lights up red. We all take turns shooting it. My dad usually is the one who runs around and picks up all the arrows. After that, we look around at all the pretty light in the neighborhood. When we get too cold we go back into the house. When we’re inside we go to Dad’s computer to track where Santa is. Then we put chocolate chip cookies and milk under our stockings for Santa. Finally my sister and I start getting ready for bed, but the grownups will stay up a little longer. I can’t wait to do it again this year! We have so much fun together!
Christmas Movie — Jolanda Ulloa-Machen
Every year I watch a Christmas movie with my family. Before we start the movie we get snacks. I always get popcorn and coke. Then we go into the living room and sit down. I sit on the couch with my mom and my dad and brothers, Justin and Jayden, sit on the floor. We vote for the movie we want to watch. Normally we choose “The Grinch”. When the movie starts we eat. I take a nap while everyone else keeps watching the movie. When I wake up from my nap the movie is over and everyone goes upstairs. We go to the bedroom and get ready for bed. Sometimes we make hot cocoa before going to sleep. I like my tradition a lot, it is so much fun.
Going to Pop Pop’s House — Joshua Wood
My Christmas tradition is spending time with my family. Every year I go to my Poppop’s house with Mommy and Sissy. My cousin, Austin, sissy, and I play lots of games like tag and hide and seek. We also go outside and run around with the dogs. After playing for a little we eat dinner. After dinner we rest for a little before going to play outside again. Outside I like to climb trees. I really like my tradition, it is so much fun and I have an amazing time.
Christmas at My Cousin’s House — Austin Yerk
My Christmas tradition is spending time with my family. I go to my cousin’s house every year with my mom and dad. All of my aunts, uncles and cousins are there too. My cousins and I play tag and hide and seek. The adults make cookies while we are playing. Then Santa comes over. We sit on his lap and tell him what we want for Christmas. He gives us a present and then leaves. After Santa leaves we eat dinner. Then everyone gets to eat one cookie. After we eat the cookie mommy, daddy, and I go home. I really like this tradition and look forward to doing it again this year.
Christmas Village — Bristol Ziegler
Going to Christmas Village with my dad, my brother, and my step mom makes me very happy. First I eat dinner at dad’s house. Then, after dinner, we start driving. Sometimes I sleep during the drive. When we get there I see a reindeer, snowman, and a bear. My brother and I give the reindeer a high five. Then we all walk around and look at the lights. There is a pond with lights in it that I think is really pretty. After that we see a pretty house and look at all the little houses. The little houses are my favorite thing to see. When we are leaving we always see Santa on the wall. Christmas Village makes me really happy and I hope we can do it every year.
Christmas with my Family — Ivan Ndiangui
My favorite part of Christmas is when I decorate the Christmas tree with my family. I really like when I get to put the ornaments on the tree. My favorite ornaments are the red ones. It is so much fun.
Santa — Juliana DiPietro
My favorite part of Christmas is Santa. I really like when I get to sit on his lap. I also really like telling him what I want for Christmas.
Sitting on Santa’s Lap — Violet Rivenburg
My favorite Christmas tradition is when I get to sit on Santa’s lap. He always asks me what I want to get. Santa also gave me a reindeer mask when I went to see him.