THE CHRISTMAS season has very quickly approached the Lancers as they’re nearing the end of 2023. Christmas is a very highly anticipated, and something that comes along with this season is Christmas gift-giving.

People have all sorts of different ideas of what Christmas gifts could be. Many people have traditions such as “Secret Santa” or “White Elephant,” which are different gift-giving practices family and friends enjoy worldwide.

“My family plays a game with one dollar bills and also plays white elephant every year,” Ethan Gukeisen-Hope (12) said.

Others don’t partake in playing games at all. “We just honor the Lord known as Jesus Christ. We pray and do the usual things,” Jayden Dominguez (11) said.

Everyone has different opinions on what should and shouldn’t be considered a Christmas gift. “Oh yeah, who wouldn’t want money underneath their tree? Imagine a 100-dollar bill lying under the tree just for you,” Dominguez said.

However, cash isn’t everyone’s idea of the perfect present. “Giving away money for Christmas is fine, but a gift? No, you should give a little effort to buy someone a gift that shows you genuinely care,” Taviahn Pickering (11) said.

Giving a Christmas gift is a is a very generous thing to do. There is a lot of discussion about whether a gift needs to be expensive to be worth anything to someone. “A gift does need to be expensive to be relevant or have some worth to me,” Kayley Neilson (12) said. She also says that giving Christmas gifts is considerate.

Many Lancers agree that Christmas gifts hold meaning, “Receiving a Christmas gift means a lot to me, I don’t know — just knowing that they are at least looking out for me means a lot to me,” Kamuela ‘KJ’ Faamoe (11) said.

Every Lancer has a unique Christmas list. “My Christmas list of things that I wished for were new car tires and a subwoofer,” Gukeisen-Hope said.

Dominguez says he wants “Le Male elixir, Le Male parfum, Versace Eros, Valentino Born in Rome, 1 Million parfum, and a UFC Fight Night hoodie 2.0,” On the other hand, many other students don’t participate in creating Christmas lists.

There are many ways to celebrate and prepare for Christmas. “I sit around the tree with my family, and we wrap the presents we got people. We also put up lights and bake sweets to prepare for Christmas,” Pickering said.

The winter holidays are an enjoyable time for all Lancers. It’s a time to celebrate religion, spend time with family and friends, or simply just enjoying time away from winter sports and school.