By: Rosie Hutchison

Christmas break is fun. We get to leave school with no homework, no plans, and no worries. We get to come back with new stuff, 5 extra pounds, and another successful year under our belts. Go us. All of these things are fabulous, but what makes Christmas break extra special for me is the people who surround me during those two weeks of bliss, which believe it or not, is my family.

If you didn’t know already, I am related to a lot of curly-haired weirdos who will fight and/or have dance parties in my kitchen with me whenever I want them to. In order from oldest to youngest, they are: Mary Clara, Fritz, Charlie, me, Maggie, Oliver, and JoJo.

If I don’t wake up to Fritz playing the piano on the weekend, it’s Oliver and Jojo stomping around in their room playing Avatar or Star Wars. Maggie’s usually doing homework (typical younger sibling showing me up). However, Mary Clara attends Loyola University in New Orleans and Charlie goes to Mizzou, so I am not graced with their presence as much as I would like.

This is not to say that I am calling my family perfectly harmonious, because we definitely have our flaws. Every Christmas, someone is always fighting about something somewhere in our house for some reason, usually revolving around Christmas ornaments or movie selections.

The fight probably broke out because I stole another person’s ornament (back then in 2008 I was a pretty feisty gal). No one can ever seem to resist giving their input or taking sides during one of these little tiffs, so they don’t. Between us seven kids, the fight escalated at an impressive speed, like it always does. My dad’s way of helping was by video-taping. The next thing Mary Clara, the oldest and most “mature” sibling did was stand up on the stepladder and yell over the increasingly physical tussle, “Everyone shut up and get along because we’re a happy family!” Family defining moment right there.

Christmas is unique at my house, to say the least. Each morning of December 25th, all seven kids wake up and sit on the stairs for our parents to arise. This is because we’re banned from talking to them any time before 7 am. When we’re finally allowed downstairs, we are greeted by a mountain of festively wrapped presents and the “Christmas moose” who tops the tree and guards it with an ax. Apparently, angels and stars are too conventional for us to top the tree with.

During the holiday season, my thoughts used to revolve around presents, but now it revolves around the anticipation of all my siblings being home. Christmas is one of the best times of the year because firstly, I get presents, and secondly, I get my family.