Ho-Ho-Holiday Traditions
Mallory Wallace-Usry | Dec. 9, 2025
Lights strung in the Gladfelter Dining Hall at Warren Wilson College (WWC) on December 7, 2025 in Swannanoa, N.C. (Echo/Emma Taylor McCallum)
We’ve nearly made it to winter break, Warren Wilson! In lieu of a more complex article discussing very serious matters (like coffee shops), I come to you one last time with a little piece about holiday rituals and traditions, and a bit of news from my end.
Living with the seasons is a lost art these days, with work, friends and phones draining all of our attention. It’s easy to feel like the joy of the holidays is lost as we get older, but if you tune into your surroundings and take a moment to fully experience them, I have a feeling you’ll discover that at least a little magic still exists.
To find out more about students’ winter holiday celebrations, I sent out a small survey last week. At the time of writing, it only has seven responses, all very sweet. The survey is open to responses if you feel inclined to reminisce on winter seasons past. If not, I hope this article will serve as a reminder to make time for yourself to breathe when things get hectic throughout the next month and beyond.
All of my survey respondents chose to remain anonymous, so I’ve structured this article as a question-and-answer piece. Holiday inspiration abounds!
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As a child, what holidays did you celebrate during the winter, if any?
Eighty-five percent of respondents celebrated New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, 71% celebrated Christmas, 28% celebrated Hanukkah and 14% celebrated Kwanzaa and the Winter Solstice, respectively.
Did you look forward to the holidays as a child? Do you still look forward to the season now?
While 100% of the respondents agreed that they looked forward to the holidays as children, only 71% still fully look forward to the holiday season today.
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Does your family have any holiday traditions that you continued each year? If yes, what was the most memorable to you?
“We play lots of games, do crafts, cook a ton of food and get each other presents. We also take decorating very seriously. The most memorable is always the cooking, all the women in my family (men stay in the living room watching football 👎) are amazing cooks and I learn so much from them every year.”
“Yes, lighting Hanukkah candles and singing.”
“On New Year’s Day, we build a little boat out of wood scraps, write the year on it and then send it floating down the river with a candle.”
“White Elephant on Christmas Eve, putting cookies out for Santa. On New Year’s: eating black eyed peas and collard greens, on New Year’s Eve: taking an everything shower to be clean for the new year.”
“We make trails to find gifts for at least one person each. For example: go to Dad (then he has a note that says to go somewhere else). This keeps going until [you’re] where the gift actually is.”
“My parents used to paint an ornament for me every year. It usually had my name, the year and it was themed after some hobby/interest I had that year!”
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What winter/Christmas media do you recommend (songs, movies, books, etc)?
“Movies: ‘White Christmas’, ‘Elf’ (lol), Songs: Any oldies Christmas album.”
“‘Charlie Brown.’”
“I love watching ‘Holiday Inn’ and ‘White Christmas,’ and ‘A Partridge Family Christmas’ was always a favorite CD.”
“I’ve watched the ‘Elf’ movie every Christmas Eve for a while now.”
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Have you created any traditions as you've gotten older that you hope to carry into the future?
“Making decorations!”
“Smoking in the snow.”
“Not that I can think of. I would like to do more with the solstice, though.”
“Watching ‘Elf’ every Christmas Eve.”
“Making the big gifts a genuine surprise.”
“Making garlands! When I have my own home + children, I would like to start more traditions.”
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If you have a unique memory of the holidays or some advice to share for this season, write it down below!
“Some advice is to remember to prioritize your own mental health and wellbeing and really focus on what’s important to you regarding the holidays to avoid getting overwhelmed. Take time for yourself and enjoy time with family, being outdoors, whatever is important to you!”
“GO OUT INTO THE SNOW!!!”
“Remember that even though the holidays are ‘supposed’ to be a calm, fun, relaxing time, there are lots of stressors that can make people on edge. Spending time with family that you have been looking forward to seeing might not be as fun as you expected, or maybe the charm of the holidays as a child has worn off. Don’t take it personally, and try to make your own holiday magic. Do what makes you happy.”
“Be present.”
“Make sure you don’t leave ribbons out around your cats unless you want to go get their stomach pumped. Learn from my mistakes.”
Thank you to everyone who participated in this survey for your lovely responses!
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Between finals and family reunions, the holidays are hard. You’ve gotten through the whole semester so far and you’ll get through this last week, one day at a time. However you choose to spend this season, give yourself grace. Make time for play, sleep, and yummy, warm food. Ring in the new year well rested!
Finally, news from me. It’s with a mixture of both excitement and sadness that I announce I will not be returning to Warren Wilson next semester.
While I’m incredibly thankful for the people I’ve met here and the experiences I’ve had, I plan to go into teaching and I cannot justify spending money to attend a school without an education major. I also miss speaking French so much and am disappointed at the lack of language education at WWC. On a lighter note, I miss my cat, Goose, and I am very excited to be with her everyday again.
Goose sits perched on a wall in Charleston, S.C. (Echo/Mallory Wallace-Usry)
Sweet, stupid baby.
I can’t express how much of an impact Warren Wilson has had on me, and though I haven’t been here long, I will carry the lessons I’ve learned here well into the future. I’m eternally grateful for the friends I’ve made. Thank you to everyone who has made this semester so lovely, the people make the place, truly.
Much love,
Mallory