Deck the Houses! Holiday Cheer Sprawls Across Campus

          As Turkey Term continues to unfold, the Circle and the Crescent prepare to celebrate the winter holidays. Houses are adorned with new holiday decorations, ranging from festive string lights and garlands to inflatables. For many, holiday traditions are an integral aspect of student life and emphasize unique House cultures and promote House bonding. 

          In particular, the Kirby House has a multitude of traditions designed to help get the House into the holiday spirit, including the custom of having House members return from the Thanksgiving Break with a personal ornament for the House tree. For Kirby President Wallis Cornell ’26, this specific tradition allows Kirby residents to personalize the tree and strengthen bonds with each other. “I’m from Maryland, so one year I bought an ornament from there. The whole idea is that you should bring an ornament that has special significance to you, which makes this tradition really special for the girls in the House,” Cornell elaborated. There are also several Kirby-specific traditions for next week’s House banquets that Cornell is excited for, such as the annual talent show and the gifting of red Kirby hats and mugs. To her, traditions such as these reflect unity and Kirby’s close-knit culture. “These traditions play a really important role in bringing the girls of the house together, and they really emphasize house bonding, which in turn helps make Kirby more of an inclusive environment,” she concluded. 

          Similar to Kirby, the Stanley House cherishes holiday traditions, including cookie-baking. The House has recently altered this traditionally in-House holiday activity into an Invite-a-Friend, allowing Stanley residents to invite members from other Houses. “Cookie-decorating is a unique way to have fun and to be creative with the person you have invited. Personally, I love cookies, the smell they leave in the House, and how people always leave with smiles on their faces after decorating these cookies,” Stanley President Destiny Ortega ’26 explained. Ortega additionally credited Stanley Social Representative Bunny Henault-Bassett ’26 for her role in creating the event. Ortega is hopeful that this new tradition will be “one that lasts and gets people looking forward to it every year,” additionally citing Stanley’s tradition of decorating the House in green and blue as one of her favorite traditions, as it “not only shows [their] holiday spirit but also [their] Stanley pride.” 

          A tradition unique to the Stephens House is the decoration of a Christmas tree and the placing of a bra as one of its ornaments. According to Stephenite Tenzin Tsepel ’26, this tradition originated ten years ago and began when a former resident accidentally flung her bra onto a Christmas tree. Since then, the addition of the same bra to the Stephens Christmas tree has commemorated a key House tradition, and to Tsepel, it reflects the House’s “love for humor and joking around.” 

          “When the story of the bra tree was first told to me, I felt so much closer to fellow [Stephens residents] that I had previously not been as close with. Sharing laughter over that tradition really helped strengthen my bonds with the other girls in the House, and now, being able to tell [underclassmen in Stephens] the story of the bra tree is something that’s really important to me,” Tsepel reflected. Similar to Kirby, Stephens also has several traditions that revolve around its House banquet, such as holiday karaoke sessions and games. Tsepel’s personal favorite House tradition is the opportunity for past Stephens residents—colloquially known as “Steniors”—to celebrate the winter holidays with current members of the House. 

          Above all, from the Stephens bra tree to Kirby ornaments, House holiday traditions not only allow Lawrentians to celebrate the winter holidays, but also enable them to forge stronger bonds with fellow residents and play a role in defining the identity of their respective Houses.