‘I Am Thankful For A Loving Family’

Welcome to our annual holiday children’s writings.

We love bringing you this project every year, which gives us all a glimpse into how our youngest residents view the holidays.

Once again, you’ll find some cute answers to the questions we posed, along with many touching ones. One thing that stands out with many of answers is just how important family is to our children. You’ll also find that they are more than ready to help others in their community – perhaps with a little help from us adults.

We thank the principals, teachers and students at Mountain View, Kling, Waddell, Natural Bridge and Fairfield elementary schools for participating in this year’s project.

We hope you enjoy these writings and we wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy holidays.

I am 5 years old and this year I behaved good but I promise to further improve.

I would like to receive a stuffed animal cat, human fall flat Legos, Mario Legos, and Minecraft bed set. Liam Kling -I would like a toy gun. Thank you. Carter, 6 Kling -I am 4 years old. This year I have been very nice.

A few things I did that were nice are … played with m y friends. Hug my friends.

For Christmas this year, I would really like stretch guys, robot toys, monster trucks. Ezra Kling -I am 5 years old. This year I have been very nice.

A few things I did that are nice are … I helped by mom clean. I listened to her. I spent time with my family. I stayed with my sister.

For Christmas this year, I would really like Nintendo Switch, games, Barbies, doll babys, Polly Pockets. Avery Kling -I have been good.

I would like these stuff for Christmas: iPhone 14, military toys, Grinch softy, dinosaur toothpaste, dinosaur toothbrush, dinosaur mouthwash. Stanley Kling -I am 4 years old. This year I have been very nice.

For Christmas this year, I would really like a new tablet, makeup, teddy bear, Squishmello. Oakleigh Kling -I am 7 years old and this year I have behaved very well but I promise to further improve.

I would like to receive these gifs: pants, robux, long sleve shirt, bubble gum machine, socks, Pokemon Pack 100, scarf, electric skooter. Sabastian Kling -I am 4 years old. This year I have been very nice. A few things I did that were nice are hugged my brother.

For Christmas this year, I would really like dolls, skateboard, toys. Charlie Kling -I have been good this year. I want a lot of wish toys. I also want books because I like reading. I want my elf to stop being bad. Unsigned

My Favorite Gift

My favorite gift of all time was … I was 3 years old and I got this teddy bear for Christmas. I loved it so much, the name at the time was Butterscotch.

It still sits on my bed today. My sister loves it. Summer Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite gift of all times is my little sister and brother. First I have two younger siblings to play with. Next, I get to give a ton of piggy backs to 2 younger siblings. Finally I love going outside with them. Evelyn Third grade, Fairfield -My mom and dad got me a bike and I can ride around on the farm and I ride it on the road to go to the park. Ryan Third grade, Fairfield -My most favorite present ever is my big Pokemon box. I got a lot of rares, I got double rares, and one triple illustrated rare. I have collected Pokemon when was I four or younger. My dad got me to collect Pokemon and now I love them. I have at least 500-1,000 Pokemon cards. I love my dad and he really got me into it. Luca Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite gift is my family because they took me to the beach and kings dominion and football games and basket ball games and baseball game. Mason Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite gift of all time was going to an MLB game. First we had to drive all the way down to Atlanta Georgia. Next, when we got there we went to the stadium and watched the Braves and Angels play. Finally, after the game we had to spend the night at a hotel and then drove home. This is the best gift I ever received. Eli Third grade, Fairfield -In my opinion the best gift I ever gotten was family and friends because your family is really important because they take care of you especially your safety and friends are just to have fun and spend memories. Evah Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite present was a dog because I got to name him and play with him and he jumps on me. Cameron Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite present ever was a PS5. I got it last year (2022) and some games for it. And a cooling station for it which charges up the controllers. And I like it because the graphics are so much better than my Nintendo so that is why I like it. Melville Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite gift I’ve gotten in my lifetime was Jesus. Because Jesus was brought down from heaven and he made miracles. Like when someone was blind all he had to do was cover the person’s eyes and let go and they could see. But the king got mad cause everyone wanted Jesus to be kind. So he killed Jesus but Jesus sacrificed himself for the people. Dante Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite gift is to have a life a life I mean I love my family and my friends and I have a great life I mean I have a great mom a great dad and brother. I love how my let me dance for years now so that is why that’s my favorite gift. Charley Third grade, Fairfield -The best gift I got is a phone because I can play Roblox and watch TicTok and I got atv too I can watch movies and watch You-Tube also. I love all my gifts but the best one I got was my family. Jailyn Third grade, Fairfield --- My favorite present I got from Christmas is a knight costume because I have always wanted a knight costume so I could dress up and play knights. Robert Third grade, Fairfield -My favorite present is my Bryce Harper jersey and I’ve liked him my whole entire life and I went to a game and I went to DC to watch the game. But they lost 7 to 6. Reed Third grade, Fairfield

My Favorite Christmas Food

My favorite Christmas food is chocolate chip cookies, I like it because it has chocolate chips inside. I know how to make chocolate chip cookies. You need cookie dough and then you need a pan and put cookie dough on it and back it. Me and my mom and my dad made it and it makes me happy and I love it. Mary Second grade, MVE -My favorite food is cheery delight. How do you make it? It has granola bars, then you add whip cream. Next you cook it and add cheerys on top. I cook cheery delight with my nana! Kiera Fourth grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food are rolls. Really any type of rolls but positively my grandmother’s rolls. They are so good I’m not sure how she makes them. The inside is so soft and fluffy. The outside of the rolls is buttery and a bit hard but still good.

I’m also a fan of my moms mashed potatoes. They’re good. The mashed potatoes are soft. I like to take my moms mash potatoes and my grandma’s rolls and dip the roll in the mash potatoes. Those are usually the foods I get at Christmas and Thanksgiving and they’re good anytime really. However, they are foods that are one of a kind.

Emma Fifth grade, MVE - My favorite Christmas food is banana pudding because it is so tasty! How to make banana pudding. 1. You need a bowl. 2. You need bananas and vanilla wafers. 3. Take the bowl, slice up the bananas and put the banana slices and some vanilla wafers in the bottom of the bowl. 4. The on top put the banana pudding. 5. After you put the vanilla pudding you top it off by putting some banana slices and vanilla wafers. Katherine Fourth grade, MVE My favorite Christmas food is brownies! My Grandma makes the best brownies! Sometimes everyone eats every single one of them because they like them so much and they can’t stop eating them. They beg her to make more to bring each Christmas, but she says, “no” because it is too much work for her and she’s getting old. I told them to stop and surprisingly they listened to me for once. Serenity Fifth grade, MVE --- My mom makes Christmas cookies. She makes them on the night Santa comes. She used bread, dough, icing and I don’t know what else. It tastes like sugar and bread. We eat them at our house. I like Christmas cookies. We save one for Santa give some milk we keep it out for him. Eugene Third grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is preacher cookies. I like preacher cookies because they taste good. You need cookie dough. You need to back the cookie dough. You put them in the fridge to cool off. I’m happy when I bake. Cainaan Second grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is waffles. Why? Well because I can eat waffles when I open presents. Easy to make. I can make them varieties, toppings with cream, butter, syrup. I get a frozen waffle and put the frozen waffle in the toaster put toppings on them. Landon Third grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is gingerbread houses. My family gathers together and we all make gingerbread houses at my Grandmas house. My grandma buys us kits to make the gingerbread houses. I decorate my gingerbread house with Skittles and M and M’s. My family lets it sit for one day, then we eat it. James Fourth grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is cookies. I like cookies because they taste good. I make it with two eggs, one cup of flour, and one cup of sugar. My family and I love cookies. Davina Second grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is prime rib. I make it with mom at my house. I cover it with the seasoning. Mary Third grade, MVE - It is hot cocoa because it has a sweet taste. My favorite food on Christmas is cookies or like little snacks that we eat because I love eating snacks and watching TV. Malice Fifth grade, MVE -My favorite food for Christmas is mash potatoes. My mom makes them with milk, salt and pepper. Sometimes I help cook it. I love it with gravy. Sometimes my aunt fixes it. I will not eat it is if tastes weird. Savannah, Fourth grade, MVE - Some of my foods for Christmas as string cheese, cakes, Mc-Donalds, turkey, chicken, ham, cheeseburger, Hardees, mac and cheese, cookies, gingerbread man, left over Thanks giving diner, brownies, marshmallows. You can cook mac and cheese for only 2 minutes. Chickfalay. Hunter Fourth grade, MVE Turkey is my favorite food because I am a werewolf. So then I can chew on bones. You bake it in the oven. Rylee Third grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is ice cream snow! My Mom, Dad and I make it together. The ingredients are snow from outside, vanilla ice cream, and a bit of heavy cream. After you know that, you need to go to the store to get vanilla ice cream and heavy cream. After you get home, you get a large bowl and go outside to get the snow. After you go outside, you put in the snow, vanilla ice cream and heavy cream in the bowl. After you do that, you mix it all up. Then after you mix it, you get a spoon, and you eat it.

Izzy Fifth grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is eggs. I like it because eggs are very good. That’s my favorite food in the mornings.

Bristol Third grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas is macaroni. I like it because it is extra cheesy. This is how my grandma makes it she puts it in the microwave then she puts extra cheese on it. My grandma makes it. Macaroni makes me happy. Ellie Second grade, MVE -I eat chicken and roll and mash potatoes. I cook it on a pan and I cook it with my Nana and and GamGram. We cook it inside of the house. I love cooking. Chase Fourth grade, MVE - Hi, I live with my Aunt Laura and cool Uncle Sean. Once when my cousins and I were playing in the snow Sean make a rainbow fire. He handed us a metal rod with a strawberry on it. Then he got out marshmallow fluff. We dipped out strawberries in the marshmallow fluff. We went over to the fire and roasted out treats. After we roasted our treats, we carefully are them so we wouldn’t drop them. Our dog Rosie intensely watched us as we ate. She kept barking at us but she couldn’t have any. That is what we ate for Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone. Kharlea Fifth grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is apple pie. I like it because it is easy to bake. We use apples sugar cinnamon. Me and my mom make it. I love it. Laken, Second grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is Christmas themed chicken nuggets. I love it because its delicious. Their good with fries and I eat it all the time. Christian Third grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is chip beef gravy. My family and I have chip beef gravy for breakfast after we open all the Christmas presents at our house and then all of the presents at my Grandparents house. My Great Grandmother used to make the chip beef gravy but now my Mom and I do. Then we have our favorite Christmas breakfast together. Olivia Fifth grade, MVE - My favorite Christmas food is jelly pretzel whipped cream strawberry. I like the jelly because it tastes good. I make it like this. You need to get a pan. Then get the pretzels and the whipped cream and jelly and strawberries. Put it in the fridge for a little bit. I am happy about the jelly. Evelynn Second grade, MVE -My favorite Christmas food is bear jerky. We will send our bear dogs out and they will tree a bear and when we get there we will shoot it and get it home. When we get home we will skin the bear and cut its backsides off and any other good meat. Then we put whatever seasonings on it. Then we will cook it in a hydrater and then we wait. Then when it’s done you can eat it. Khance Fourth grade, MVE -I don’t eat anything different on Christmas than any other day but I guess it is pepperoni pizza. My grandma cooks it for me. She buys it from the store. Tate Fifth grade, MVE

How I would help people during the holidays

I would buy a whole bunch of food and give it to people that can’t afford it. I’d donate toys to homeless kids and give them money. Passion Fifth grade, NBE - You can go Christmas caroling to the elderly, donate hot foods, like soups. Bekim Fifth grade, NBE - Give money to the animal shelter so they can get more food and water. Give money to the homeless so they can get food and water. Drayce Fifth grade, NBE -To help people this holiday season I will five out candy to people. I will help babysit my brother this holiday. Kellen Fifth grade, NBE -I would bake Christmas cookies for the homeless people and I would make fresh cookies for cats and dogs. Ashley Fifth grade, NBE -I would like to give old people Christmas cards. I would like to give candy too! Addie Fifth grade, NBE - Maybe give a smile more often. I myself have been making Christmas cards with assistance of Ms. Gabby. Mason Fifth grade, NBE -I want to go to the nursing home to give them Christmas presents and will give homeless people gifts.

Brenna Fifth grade, NBE -If I could help someone for the holidays is if someone is homeless is give them a home. If they don’t get any presents, then I will take them to the amusement park. Malachi Fifth grade, NBE - Give away clothes, toys and money to charity. Make food for people who are less fortunate than you. Emmalinn Fifth grade, NBE -I will sing in churches to put a smile on their elderly faces, give out free hot cocoa with marshmallows. Ella Fifth grade, NBE

What I’m thankful for during this season of celebration

I am thankful for having a nice, cozy home. I am thankful for a loving family. I am thankful for my Christmas tree. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for my food and water. I am thankful for a great school. I am thankful for my teachers. I am thankful for my Grandmas and Grampas. I am thankful for entertainment. I am thankful for my cousins. And last but not least, I am thankful for myself. Be thankful for what you have. If you aren’t, you might turn out greedy.

Emma Third grade, Waddell -I am thankful for my dog Winnie, friends, soccer, basketball, my house and my food. They’re important to me because I need them to survive and be happy.

Cooper Third grade, Waddell - Hanging out with my family because it is what matters to me in the whole world. Also it fills my heart with joy and happiness and love.

Hazel Fourth grade, Waddell -I am thankful for the life I have. The friends who build me up. The family that crowds me with love. I have the best life and that’s what I am thankful for.

Morgan Fourth grade, Waddell - During this season of celebrations, I’m thankful for having snow. I’m also thankful for getting presents from Santa. Last but not least, I’m thankful for all the Christmas decorations. Ben Third grade, Waddell -I am thankful for having my family and friends with me at Christmas and having baby Jesus be born. Also for the joy at Christmas time.

Sophie Third grade, Waddell -I am thankful for my family, friends and my home. To make people feel better because I am thankful for my good health.

Scarlett Third grade, Waddell - During this season of celebrations, my family puts lights up, plays music and dances around, and my favorite thing is giving the presents rather than getting the presents. I love seeing everyone’s smiles. That is what I am thankful for.

Kathleen Fourth grade, Waddell - I’m thankful for the people who work very hard for the Christmas parades. I’m also thankful for my cheer coach to prepare us to be in the parade.

Ivy Fourth grade, Waddell -I am thankful for my family, friends, school teachers and of course, my makeup.

Katie Fifth grade, Waddell - What am I thankful for during the season of celebrating, you may ask? Well, I am thankful for my friends and family. I am thankful for these because they support me in the time I need it. But, most of all, I am grateful for a friend that can support my ideas. Even though some people may not have friends like this I am grateful that I have that.

Raegan Fifth grade, Waddell