Home for the Holidays 2007
1st Place - Sarah Lang, Boardmanville Elementary
For Christmas I use all of my senses, smell, feel, seeing, hear, and taste. This is how I use smell. I can smell the cookies and the pine of the tree. I think they are a good mix. Next I’ll talk about what I feel. I feel warmth from the fire in the fireplace. Third I’ll talk about the sights you would see at my house. They are colorful light, a Christmas tree with and angel on top, bulbs and tinsel. Fourth the taste of the cookies. My mom makes sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, haystacks, peanut butter cup, and pretzels that are dipped in chocolates. Lots of others cookies too. Last but not least I hear music like Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Silent Night and The bells of Santa’s reindeer. Even though those are the senses I use, I love to be around family members.
2nd Place - Maddy Terhaar, Boardmanville Elementary
There are many things that make the holiday mean something to me, but my favorite things are traditions. One tradition that makes the holidays special is the hiding of the pickle on the Christmas tree when my mother’s family visits. One of the adults hides the pickle and all the kids search for it. Whoever finds the pickle gets an extra present. Another special tradition is the making of peanut brittle when my mother’s family visits. It’s a hard candy that we make and give to family and friends. It is a fun holiday activity. I like helping my mom decorate. I like to put up our Nutcrackers. I also like to put up all of our Christmas trees. We have a white tree, a regular green tree, and little fake trees that we put in our rooms. The last tradition we have on Christmas takes place on Christmas Eve. We go to Buffalo to visit my grandparents. They have a party every year. I love the smell of the food roasting in the fire. These are just some of the traditions that we do on Christmas that makes the Holiday mean a lot to me.
3rd Place - Courtney Martin, EastView Elementary
The holidays mean a lot to me. One holiday coming up soon is Christmas. Christmas means a lot to my family and I. Every Christmas Eve my family and I go to church. It is awesome to look at all of the decorations that are put up. There are Christmas trees and many other decorations. Every Christmas my family and I have ham for dinner. None of my brothers and sisters can sleep because they are so excited. On Christmas morning we wake up around 7:00 AM to open our presents. Christmas is one holiday that would mean nothing to me if I didn’t celebrate it with my family. Another holiday is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a good time of the year to give thanks for everything you own. My family and I barely eat anything all day so we can leave room in our stomach for a Thanksgiving feast. We sit there for a while and talk to each other. As you can see the holidays mean everything to me and I couldn’t celebrate them without my family.
Honorable Mention - Richard Heap
What the holidays mean to me... I enjoy preparing special foods to share with my family and friends. The holidays mean singing and sharing good times with all the special people in my life. I enjoy going to church. I really like cutting down and decorating the Christmas tree with my family. I like baking cookies, pies, turkey, and mashed potatoes. These times are what makes the holidays special to me.
Honorable Mention - Brianna Curtin, Boardmanville Elementary
Christmas means the most to me, because it is time for my family to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time to spend with my family. Kids love Christmas because the get a lot of presents. We also eat a lot more than ever before. We always decorate listening to Christmas music. On Christmas Eve we go to church and sing Christmas songs and songs about Jesus. I write a list of what I want for Christmas. Then we go to the mall to see Santa’s lap and show him my Christmas list. I don’t always get everything on my list, but I do get some of the stuff. At church we bring shoe boxes full of toys that we give to a boy or a girl in other countries that are less fortunate than us. And that is what the holidays mean to me.
-November 21, 2007