Christmas Feast has been a beloved tradition at Saint Anselm College for 35 years now. Starting in 1987, it became a huge part of the culture on campus. This year’s Christmas Feast will be held in Davison Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 7th. 

Now, to dive deeper into the preparations of this event. Planning normally starts many months in advance and involves work from the facilities team, the special events team, and the Davison Hall team to bring students this incredible event. The Crier spoke with the Director of Operations in Dining Services, Dawn Bellerose, for some more insight into the process the day of the event. 

Davison Hall serves students lunch then closes around 2:00pm, which is when all the magic happens. Davison Hall staff spend the next 3 hours decorating, cooking, baking and setting up. They transform the dining hall in a matter of hours while simultaneously making an incredible amount of food.

Starting off with 1600 pieces of hand breaded Asiago chicken, 180 lbs of pasta, 400 lbs of mashed potatoes, 22 gallons of eggnog, 300 lbs of green beans, and so much more – not to mention the 5,524 individually baked desserts that are made fresh by the Davison Hall bakers. According to Bellerose, on average there is a total of 60 hours of cooking in order to prepare for the event. 

Before all of the cooking and baking is done, and before all of the decorations, menus, tables setting and lights have been placed, a meeting takes place. The leaders of the project thank all of the workers for all of the time and effort that they have put into the event. After that they discuss the ways in which they can make this Christmas Feast the best one yet. 

We asked Ms. Bellerose what her favorite part of this tradition is, and she said “when the doors open at 5:00pm, inviting hundreds of students and community members in, revealing the transformed space. Seeing their faces light up and hearing the comments about how amazing the food looks is why we do what we do!” 

The Davison Hall staff takes so much pride in their work. They spend hours upon hours of time planning, sculpting and cooking for this event and every year it is a night to remember. Remember to thank our Davison hall workers for all of their time and effort! Make sure you get your tickets for the Christmas feast as soon as you can, sold in the Davison Hall office. Merry Christmas Feast, and happy holidays!