Centennial seniors are already feeling the winter spirit! With houses being decked out with Christmas decorations and shops coming out with their iconic holiday beverages, the joy is most definitely contagious. Especially for Centennial’s seniors, this winter before college is a particularly precious opportunity to spend time with close friends and family members. 

Senior Misha Khan is excited for the spell of winter magic, as she said, “Winter is the season of cozy, being cozy, family time, bringing out those fuzzy socks, watching movies, drinking hot chocolate, watching the snow, and playing in the snow with my family and dog.”

Whether you’re wrapping yourself up for a movie night or making snow angels outside, there’s a treat for just about anyone to enjoy! Senior Sophie Fang is already beginning to celebrate with her favorite Christmas snacks. 

“I am a big peppermint fan,” Fang remarked. “So when Starbucks released their holiday drinks, I really wanted to go try them, as well as the Chick-Fil-A milkshake– I also just love baking Christmas cookies and all that stuff.”

  While everyone is beginning to bundle up and get out their winter gear, rooms are also being ‘dressed up’ for the holiday season. Senior Emma Bush is just about ready to decorate her room to feel the joyful atmosphere. Her bedroom will transform into a wonderland of Christmas decor, festive colors, and photographs, as she stated, “I have a mini Christmas tree, Christmas-scented candles, a bunch of ornaments I put on, and people have gifted me pictures and they’re super cute. I change the whole color theme of my room because right now it’s gray, but then everything becomes red and ‘Christmasy’ and it’s really cute.” 

Our own houses aren’t the only spaces that need decorating! When talking about her holiday traditions with her friends, Fang mentioned that “[they’ve] been doing a gingerbread house making contest [in recent years].” With some colorful frosting and candy bites, anyone can make their own gingerbread house completely unique. 

Friend groups and families are getting together for some fun gift exchanges as well. Secret Santa, with its different variations, is definitely a fan favorite, whether students celebrate Christmas or not. Bush, Fang, and Khan are excited for their upcoming gift-giving events. 

“Here’s a funny thing. My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but we were kinda upset that we didn’t celebrate any holidays,” said Khan. “So we did a new thing where, instead of Secret Santa, we do ‘Secret New Year,’ where we give each other gifts on New Years.” 

Khan has another fun family tradition in store for her this season! Although they don’t formally celebrate any winter holidays, Khan and her family are more than ready to bring on their winter spirit with their annual activities. 

“We try to go skiing every year,” Khan mentioned. “Since my family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, we go specifically when we know no one else is going to be there, so that’s something we made a tradition out of.” Family time is invaluable, especially during this upcoming season of giving and gratitude. As seniors are pushing through some of their final college applications, they want to make sure that they’re spending quality moments with their loved ones.

“My sister just left for college last year and so I’ve already gotten to see what it’s like with a smaller family unit,” reflected Fang. “ I think I’m just going to try and spend a lot of time with family and my friends this year, just because this may be the last year we get to do it.” 

Even though families tend to reunite during the holiday season, “it’ll always be different than when I was here the whole time,” said Bush. Especially with some students going far and wide to different schools across the country, it will be more difficult to come back and do all the same holiday traditions they enjoyed during their childhood. 

Although college applications require the utmost dedication, it’s just as important to have fun, especially during this time of the year. 

“It’s our last year, and if you’re so focused on grades and school, you’re going to miss all the little parts,” mentioned Bush. 

“This time of year is kind of stressful, school wise,” added Fang. “Just getting excited for the holiday season, winter break, and snow days  is a great way to kind of find a bright side. It just helps you connect with your friends and family.”

As Khan put it, the upcoming winter season and break will “give you a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ vibes.”

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