I just love how he senior housing has been decorated! It is so lovely with all of its twinkling lights and blow up figures. It really seems to be true that nothing brings the Saint Anselm community together more than friendly competition.

Everyone competes to build the best gingerbread house, a skill I never quite mastered, and to decorate the most creative doorway. It is really just superb!

I just such fun watching all of the decorating happen. I saw many students struggle to climbing the trees to string up lights

While I was quite relieved to see them all return safely to the ground, I had sort of hoped to Mr. Sandford’s “man bun,” as it seems to be called, get tangled in the twings. I just think it is silly for men to have hair like that! Has anybody thought of giving him a haircut for Christmas?

I do not think however, that all Christmas presents should be that practical. There used to be great amounts of thought and time that went into gift giving.

Because people had very little money, gifts were handmade and because handmade gifts took time to make there was truly a lot of care and love that went into them. If someone took the time to make you a present you were flattered!

Now presents are all bought, some people don’t even leave their couches to do their shopping; they do it all on the interweb and have it brought to their house.

How much time and care can really be put into that? When I was a little girl, my mother always made me a new dress for Christmas! It was always so special that I wanted to wait until New Year’s Eve to wear it that, way I could show it off to everyone.

I was so proud of those dresses; the only gifts people take pride in now are the costly ones. My dresses were never extravagant, but they are something that I will always have from my mother.

While I do not approve of how all of you show your love and appreciation through gift giving, I do greatly enjoy how the college brings everyone together in cheerfulness and glee, before the stress ridden time of finals.

Boy oh boy, do I pity you all during your finals. You stay up all night, and take tests all day, the liveliness is taken right from your eyes.

It is a little amusing though, being the outsider that I am, to see what everyone looks like when they are not all dolled up to impress. The contacts stay in their cases, and sweatpants stay on for days.

Forget makeup and a hair brush, all the girls hide behind their glasses, and boys hide their unwashed hair under their hats.

While the campus looks the most beautiful it has all year, with the snow and the lights, the students look their absolute worst. It is quite a sight from where I sit up in my little cave.