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definitely worth it. Christmas is not defined<br />
only by cold weather and warm<br />
cookies. It is not defined by being in<br />
your own home or waking up in your<br />
own bed. Christmas to me means<br />
much more than that. Christmas to me<br />
will always be special memories of<br />
spending time on Poppy’s farm, baking<br />
ginger bread cookies with Nani<br />
and cousins, and coming up with the<br />
perfect plan to catch Santa in action.<br />
I truly believe that we are indeed the<br />
family of Christmas. One that could<br />
never let a jet plane and thousands of<br />
miles take away the true meaning of<br />
Christmas.<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
Christmas<br />
Dinner Goes to the Dog<br />
by Garret Milhausen<br />
Summerport<br />
Once upon a time, a family was preparing<br />
for Christmas. This family had a<br />
dog. He wasn’t really a mean dog, it<br />
was just that whenever his nose caught<br />
scent of something he wanted, he got it.<br />
And this is the story of how the Johnsons<br />
ended up eating out on Christmas.<br />
It started when Mr. Johnson was<br />
stringing the lights. The dog, Sully, was<br />
outside when Mr. Johnson climbed up<br />
on the ladder. In his pocket was some<br />
beef jerky that he planned to eat later.<br />
Once Sully caught whiff of this, the<br />
game was on.<br />
When Mr. Johnson had his back<br />
turned, Sully went to work. He was a<br />
very large dog, more than 100 pounds.<br />
Sully took a step back and charged the<br />
ladder, which wobbled briefly and<br />
fell. Luckily, Mr. Johnson landed in the<br />
hedge. Sully then went over and briskly<br />
ate the beef jerky out of his pocket.<br />
Later that day, just as dinner finished<br />
cooking, Sully found another interesting<br />
scent and immediately put his plan<br />
into action. Mrs. Johnson always made<br />
a tenderloin on holidays. When she<br />
was about to take it to the dinner table,<br />
Sully retrieved his favorite toy, a very<br />
realistic rat. Positioned right outside the<br />
kitchen door, Sully lay in wait. As Mrs.<br />
Johnson walked out of the kitchen carrying<br />
the tenderloin, Sully dropped the<br />
“rat” at her feet. She freaked out and<br />
dropped the tenderloin, which Sully instantly<br />
picked up and took outside to<br />
gorge himself.<br />
Feeling pretty low, the Johnsons<br />
turned on the television. On came a<br />
Christmas miracle: an ad for a Cracker<br />
Barrel Christmas buffet. The Johnsons<br />
had a wonderful Christmas night after<br />
dinner, which was spent at the vet<br />
getting Sully’s stomach pumped.<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
Christmas Traditions<br />
by Antonio Adornetto<br />
Bay Springs<br />
Christmas is one of my favorite times<br />
of the year. All the memories, traditions,<br />
time with family and Jesus’ birth<br />
are what make this holiday so unforgettable.<br />
There are happy, sad, joyous<br />
and new and enduring remembrances<br />
made each year. Traditions are at the<br />
heart of what makes all holidays special.<br />
They are what makes your family<br />
and anyone you celebrate with unique.<br />
Some of my favorite family traditions<br />
surround decorating the Christmas<br />
tree, attending special Christmas programs,<br />
choosing ways to give Jesus<br />
a special birthday gift of helping<br />
and being kind to others, and celebrating<br />
Christmas Eve and Christmas<br />
Day.<br />
During the beginning of December,<br />
we decorate our Christmas tree. We<br />
have a large collection of ornaments<br />
that all have a special story behind<br />
them. There are ornaments from my<br />
great grandfather, grandparents, parents<br />
and special ones to commemorate<br />
all our family vacations and special<br />
events throughout our lives. This gives<br />
us a wonderful chance to look back at<br />
many wonderful memories.<br />
We always attend at least one special<br />
Christmas program or event each<br />
year. In the past, we have gone to<br />
Epcot and visited the countries in World<br />
Showcase and learned about all the different<br />
Christmas and holiday traditions<br />
around the world. We even adopted<br />
the tradition of hiding a pickle ornament<br />
and giving the one who finds it<br />
a special gift after we learned about it<br />
in the German pavilion. We have also<br />
seen SeaWorld’s holiday celebration,<br />
The Nutcracker ballet and the lights at<br />
Disney Studios. These all create fantastic<br />
memories to look back on.<br />
Every year, we have chosen a special<br />
way to give back to Jesus during<br />
the holidays. When I was very little,<br />
www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x December 21, 2017 - January 3, 2018 x 31<br />
my mom would fill a specially wrapped<br />
box with good deeds that I would do<br />
throughout the holidays. We would<br />
open it on Christmas morning for Baby<br />
Jesus and read to him all the positive<br />
ways his spirit had guided me during<br />
that time. Now, we try to volunteer at<br />
different places. We also look to pay<br />
it forward to others whenever possible<br />
and give to those in need to show the<br />
spirit of caring and love that Jesus<br />
teaches us truly lives in us every day<br />
and especially during the holidays.<br />
On Christmas Eve every year, my<br />
grandmother comes to our house for a<br />
special steak dinner, and we open our<br />
presents from the family. We put on a<br />
Johnny Mathis Christmas CD, which is<br />
my dad’s favorite, and I hand out presents<br />
to everyone. It is always a quiet<br />
night with no TV.<br />
Christmas morning is just my mom,<br />
dad and me, opening gifts from Santa<br />
and special presents that were not<br />
opened the night before. We then attend<br />
Mass. For the past two years, I<br />
have served Mass, which is a very<br />
special honor. This is a special chance<br />
to thank God for giving us the ultimate<br />
gift of his Son to save us. After Mass,<br />
my aunt and uncle host the family for<br />
the day, which includes dinner at their<br />
house with extended family and my<br />
great grandmother.<br />
Spending time with people you care<br />
about is what family is all about and<br />
what creating special memories really<br />
means to me. All of these traditions we<br />
create together show how important<br />
family is and remind us of the special<br />
bond Mary, Joseph and Jesus had as<br />
the Holy Family as we celebrate His<br />
birth every year.<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
Christmas Is Back!<br />
by Zach Wolsonovich<br />
Lake Roberts Landing<br />
It’s November, and signs of Christmas<br />
are beginning to show up. Lowe’s is<br />
drowning in poinsettias, and the peppermint<br />
mocha, a Starbucks classic,<br />
has returned. The Christmas spirit has<br />
arrived with a bang and has no signs<br />
of leaving.<br />
It’s Black Friday, and the world<br />
seems to have exploded. Yesterday<br />
the world-famous Macy’s Thanksgiving<br />
Day Parade should’ve been called the<br />
Macy’s We Love to Celebrate Christmas<br />
Early Parade. I score some great gifts,<br />
as well as some things for myself, from<br />
Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.<br />
My favorite Christmas tradition is<br />
decorating the house, inside and out. I<br />
enjoy the struggle of trying to find lights<br />
that work and figuring out how to attach<br />
them to the house. It is always funny<br />
when we lose the remotes for the timers<br />
or step back to admire our work at night<br />
and see entire sections of lights out.<br />
The tree is another story. Being the<br />
owner of a dog is amazing, but it<br />
comes with its struggles. It seems that<br />
year after year, we lose more and more<br />
ornaments.<br />
One of the things I love about<br />
Christmas is giving back to those less<br />
fortunate. Last Christmas, my friends<br />
and I helped with a toy drive at our<br />
school for the children at Nemours<br />
Children's Hospital. Seeing how happy<br />
all of the people who worked at the<br />
hospital were about this act of kindness<br />
was a wonderful sight. As Christmas<br />
approaches, I hope that we can give<br />
back to those who need it.<br />
Around two weeks from Christmas,<br />
one of my favorite Christmas traditions<br />
is baking cookies with my mom.<br />
Also, around this time, we begin to<br />
watch Christmas movies with the whole<br />
family. Our favorites include Elf and<br />
Christmas Vacation. I personally feel<br />
that Christmas movies are some of the<br />
best in the world.<br />
When break finally arrives, it is nearly<br />
Christmas. Everyone in my family is<br />
hustling and bustling, trying to get lastminute<br />
preparations done, and finally<br />
it’s here. Christmas Eve is one of the<br />
most anxiety-filled days of the year. You<br />
cannot wait to wake up the next morning<br />
to see all of your presents. Finally,<br />
after you finish dinner and leave<br />
cookies out, you slowly drift to sleep.<br />
It’s here, Christmas! I always run<br />
downstairs to find presents waiting for<br />
my family and me. My youngest sister<br />
sleeps in for what seems like forever<br />
until finally, she awakes, and we can<br />
begin the festivities. As we open presents<br />
and enjoy Christmas festivities,<br />
I remember to be thankful for the gifts<br />
I have received, not just material things.<br />
I thank God for my family, friends<br />
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