‘Tis The Season To Be A Phoenix

 

Final exams are just around the corner and the holidays are quickly approaching. Campus is becoming a dizzy, busy mix of break-anxious and stressed out students. To cure some of these emotions, UWGB started its holiday celebrations this week- and if you ask me- it was just in the nick of time.

For me it started Monday. My on-campus job in the Dean of Students Office called for some office decorating! As the student workers went through boxes of ornaments decorating trees, the university staff in the office played Christmas music and we all talked about family traditions and what presents we were most excited to give to others.

After Monday the week became busier again with spring theater season auditions, preparation for final exams, and final projects being due.

So what better than more holiday cheer at the end of the week? On Friday evening Good Times Programming, a student organization here on campus that plans fun events, sponsored an event entitled “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” At first, I was hesitant to go considering I could have sat in my pajamas in my very warm dorm room instead of braving the cold, but they made it too exciting to pass up.

A horse drawn carriage arrived at the Community Center, a building in the middle of student housing at 6 PM. For three hours the horse drawn carriage would carry large groups of students around the beautiful snow covered campus to the Union.  It was SO cute and SO Christmas-y that the horses had jingle bells on them and the drivers wore Santa hats. Even though I couldn’t feel my fingers at the end of the trip, everyone was giggling and singing Christmas carols and just having a great time along the way.

When arriving at the Union groups of “weary travelers” stumbled in to the coffee house to make- get this- GINGERBREAD HOUSES and frost and decorate Christmas cookies while sipping on hot chocolate in front of a fireplace and participating in “Christmas Carol-oke.” Oh, and did I forget to mention the entire event was positively FREE to all UWGB students? Well…it was! J

Then, on Saturday morning, after a long night of stuffing St. Nick’s stockings, Santa himself came to campus! In an event properly entitled “’Tis The Season” families from the community intermingled with curious UWGB students and UWGB volunteers to make Christmas crafts and meet or take pictures with the jolly man himself. Although I didn’t stay and do a lot of crafts, the pure energy of the dozens and dozens of toddlers and pre-schoolers asking Santa for their Christmas goodies, or making ornaments for their holiday trees was inspiring and refreshing during a stressful exam week.

So, incase you thought that exams were one big ball of stress, or that the holidays could not be celebrated in style on campus- I hope this proved you wrong. Really, where else do you get to go on horse drawn carriage rides and see Santa all for free?

 

 

 

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