It all started in December of 2017. My friends and I all were aware of how much we loved Christmas. Whether it was decorating our houses, baking cookies, doing secret Santa, or even just going outside and playing in the snow, we loved to do it all. Since we would usually get a nice long break for the holidays, we decided that we should all do something together. Anyone can admit that spending time only with your family is a little exhausting, especially when it is the busiest holiday of the year. No one enjoys when their grandparents ask them ‘what are you gonna do with your life’ or ‘do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?’ From then on, the annual Christmas party was born.

Every year since then, I would throw a big Christmas party at my house and invite all of my close friends. We would play board games, have occasional “Mario Kart” matches, exchange gifts, listen to music, go outside in the snow, eat lots of food, and overall just enjoy each other’s company. Holidays are known to bring people together, and while having that nice long break off school, or work, it is very important to interact with one another.

Each time I would try to think of some homemade games to play whether they were challenging or just for laughs. My favorite game that I have ever arranged for the parties would have to be the mitten game. For the mitten game, my family and I would make a huge ball of cling wrap filled with gift cards, toys, and any small gifts you can think of. In order to get to them, you had to put some gloves or mittens on and try to unwrap the ball as fast as you can. We would all pass it around in a circle and only have about fifteen seconds per person. If you are ever looking for a game to play with your family or friends, this one is definitely a good choice in my opinion!

Even though a close-contact Christmas gathering isn’t possible this year, there are still many ways you can stay in contact with your friends and spread some holiday cheer. A few ideas that have come to mind are:

• Setting gifts at your friends’ doorsteps
• Sending Christmas cookies
• A group FaceTime call
• A connected movie watch party
• (If you are able to drive) Parking next to each other and eating together in your own cars

Because Christmas is my favorite holiday, it definitely makes me sad to think I will not be spending it with all my friends this year, however, as things become better, the annual Christmas party will live on (even if we have to have Christmas in July.) Merry Christmas everyone!