Jingle Bells plays for the twelfth time. Peppermint overpowers everything. Ceramic Santas litter every surface. Christmas will always top other holidays, but if one more verse of Deck the Halls plays, someone is going to get decked. Time for fun festivities! East students offered their favorite ideas for the holidays.

Music:

Ironically, a favorite song turned out to be the fun and spooky “This is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, if you need something more festive, another preference was “Santa Baby.” Voters also liked the cozy “Christmas in Kansas City,” along with Pentatonix’s cover of “Mary Did You Know?”

Films:

Voters decided their favorite Christmas movie as the hilarious Elf and the festive, yet spooky, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Students also mentioned classics such as It’s A Wonderful Life and White Christmas, while others suggested Scrooged, The Santa Clause and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Activities:

Most holiday activities chosen take celebrators outside, such as finding the best sledding spots or looking at the Christmas lights of the Country Club Plaza. For indoor frivolity, students recommended hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree, stuffing stockings early, and taking cheesy family photos.

Sweets:

East students voted pumpkin pie as their favorite dessert with sugar cookies and gingerbread closely behind. People also suggested red velvet cake and poppy seed cake. If Kansas actually gets snow this year, try your hand at some snow-made ice cream. And hey, what’s wrong with fruitcake?

Décor:

One celebrator suggested the fun, yet messy idea of using salt to resemble snow on the tabletop. Another recommended cute, miniature Christmas trees. Pine-cone bird feeders can both embellish a party and help any straggling birds that remain north this winter.

Lindsey Proctor // Staff Artist