Emily: My family and I typically start decorating for the holidays in the first week of December, hanging our festive colored Christmas lights around the rooftops and cute decorations in the house. Our favorite Christmas decoration we have is a glow-in-the-dark snowman that we have used every year ever since I was 3 years old. I remember that we loved spending our free time decorating the house, because it creates a warm and lively mood for everyone to enjoy as Christmas approaches.

Esha: My family and I start decorating right after Halloween, but we decorate one thing per week until the beginning of December. One week, we do the mantlepiece, one week, we do the tree, one week, I do my room, and so on. My favorite Christmas decoration would probably be our little stuffed Frosty the Snowman that sings and dances around. I also love poinsettia. Christmas music is a must have while decorating.

Alex: I think that we should start decorating after Thanksgiving because having them up too early takes away from the magic. I especially like the ornaments I have on my tree because each one has a meaning and we collect them from places that we travel to. Together, they make our tree look beautiful.

Claire: My favorite Christmas movie is The Naughty Nine by Disney. I love this movie because it shows that Santa gives one gift to you if you’re nice and your parents get you the rest. It shows the point of view of the kids on the Naughty List. I love how the kid who wanted to sneak into the North Pole realises that he was naughty and sacrificed the gifts for his friends to leave. They all get a second chance and they change.

Alex: The Grinch (2018) is the best Christmas movie. Because not only is it funny but it is also heartwarming and cute. Grinch adaptations prior to this one displayed the grinch in a rotten way. However Benedict Cumberbatch’s take on the character makes the audience feel bad for Mr. Grinch from the start. With music by Tyler the Creator, and background scores by Danny Elfman, the soundtrack is incredibly fun and magical. Everytime I watch this movie my heart is warmed. Each Christmas season I watch this film at least five times.

Audrey: Love, Actually. It is the perfect balance of wholesome and hilarious. It is such a beautiful celebration of life, love, joy and Hugh Grant.

Rachel:  ELF, I don’t watch a lot of Christmas Movies, but I really enjoyed ELF a lot because it was really entertaining. I liked how Buddy found his family and people that loved him (even if there were some mishaps during the process). Will Ferrell played his character really well, I enjoyed how he managed to push the feeling of childish joy into Buddy. Overall, I think this is a fun movie to watch with the whole family and definitely gets a laugh out of me.

Claire: My favorite Christmas song is It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble. I love how the song gets me into the Christmas spirit. I like how the song never gets old, and it’s a Christmas song but doesn’t talk about Santa. Not like it’s a bad thing, but it’s not all for kids.

Audrey: My favorite Christmas song: Bruce Springsteen Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (live at C.W. Post College, Greenvale NY Dec 1975) Epic sax solo and Springsteen is an American treasure. It’s the perfect song to enjoy for any age group—my dad loves it and I also love it. This live version is just so joyous, and I love that he monologues a bit; it adds such humanity where I feel like a lot of Christmas songs are pop industry garbage.

Emily: My favorite Christmas song is Last Christmas by Wham because it has a catchy melody and upbeat lyrics. My family and I, especially my dad, love listening to it during the holidays, and it has become a cherished tradition in our household. We often play it while decorating the tree or wrapping gifts, making more wonderful memories.

Rachel: There’s a lot of Christmas songs I enjoy, but I’d say my top songs are “Carol of the Bells”, Lindsey Stirling version, and “Snowman,” Sia. I like Lindsey Stirling’s version of “Carol of the Bells” because I enjoy violin music. It reminds me of when I used to play the violin when I was little. “Snowman” from Sia is an enjoyable song to sing along to. I love how this song can be interpreted in many different ways and I especially love songs that tell a story. These two songs are really fun to dance to as well.

Esha: Carol of the Bells from Home Alone. The voices are so harmonic. It feeds my soul from the inside out. The first time I listened to it, I memorized every lyric and then played it on repeat. It’s the best version of Carol of the Bells I have heard. It brings joy to my heart.

Myla: Opening one gift on Christmas Eve. Allow us to spent to time together as a family. We get more excited for Christmas

Andrei: My favorite holiday tradition is our Christmas Eve dinner in which we eat traditional Romanian foods. I really like this tradition because it’s dark outside, and we light candles to make a cozy atmosphere. The food is also really good, and we only get to eat that kind of food a few times a year. 

Rachel: Every Christmas, my family invites a few close family friends to our house. People bring gifts, food, and ingredients, and a group of the parents use the food and ingredients to cook a lot of food. Usually we have dumplings along with many other dishes. When parents are cooking, and others are just hanging out, my dad and I take the younger children out to set up our neighborhood Luminary candles. Afterwards, the children often play video games or go outside into the yard to go to the playground. I just hang out with my dog or other pets when they aren’t chasing him around. After dinner, everyone goes out on a walk around the neighborhood to look at the luminaries, and afterwards, we go home to warm up with hot chocolate and other small snacks and people exchange gifts.

Andrei Felt: Chec cu cacao- Romanian pound cake

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Beat the eggs with the sugar in a large bowl until fluffy and pale yellow in color
• Add the rest of the ingredients except the cocoa powder, and mix will
• Pour 2/3 of the batter into a well greased and floured loaf pan (9 x 5-inch)
• Mix the cocoa powder into the remaining batter, and pour it into the pan in swirls for a marbled effect.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean
• Let the cake cool before cutting and serving

Mason Clore: Æbleskiver- Danish pancake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4eggs
• 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1 stick of butter

Directions:

• Sift together dry ingredients
• Separate egg yolks and add to flour
• Beat egg whites until there are stiff peaks
• Add 1 3/4 cup buttermilk to batter
• Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon baking soda into 1/4 cup warm water
• Fold together the egg whites and mixture

How to Cook:

• Use an Æbleskiver pan
• Melt Crisco and butter together
• Prepare the pan with butter and Crisco mixture
• Put even amounts of batter in the holes
• Watch and add butter mixture to pan
• Use wooden skewers top rotate the batter
• Cool on drying rack

Audrey Baime: Challah- Jewish braided bread 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup warm water, divided
• 1 ⅛ tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups flour (or more if needed) 
• Egg wash: 1 egg, 1 tbsp water, ½ tsp salt

Directions:

• Pour ¼ cup of warm water in large bowl
• Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve
• Wait 10 minutes until mixture is foamy
• Add remaining water along with eggs, honey, canola oil and salt. Whisk thoroughly.
• Add flour by the ½ cupfuls
• Use hands to knead. Continue adding flour and kneading until smooth, elastic and not sticky.
• Oil a bowl and cover dough with oil.
• Boil a saucepan full of water. Put in cold oven.
• Cover bowl with damp towel. Put in oven above pan.
• Let rise for one hour. 
• Then punch down and rise for another hour.
• Punch dough down, knead and add flour if necessary.
• Braid and put on lined cookie sheet.
• Brush with egg wash.
• Let rise for 45 minutes. 
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes