Everyone has their own holiday traditions; some sing carols, some eat food. Well, clubs have traditions too. These traditions make the clubs unique.
The Cougar Star dance team holds an event on Dec. 1 and 2 called Progressive Dinner, where the girls sit on a hay ride in groups of about 12. Home owners volunteer to let the girls come in and see their houses. While at the homes, the girls receive food and gifts from the owner—such as clothes, shoes, and many other holiday treats. At the end of the ride they all go to one house and eat a big Christmas dinner while “celebrating their love” for one another.
Cougar Stars also have a Parade of Homes where the girls greet and take people on tours of volunteering homes. Dance director Lindsey Dresner announced that the Bravo choir and the orchestra will be there for entertainment. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased from any Cougar Star or Dresner herself.
“This being my first year as a star, I am beyond excited to participate in this tradition,” sophomore Cougar Star Valerie Gooch said. “All the things we do as a group are so fun and we have become the biggest most loving family a girl could wish for. Spending the holidays with them is going to be fabulous.”
Other clubs like Best Buddies also have holiday customs. These are a group of students who adopt a buddy from Cinco Ranch’s TIP program. The students and their buddies become very close by spending a great amount of time together. For the holidays, students and their buddies participate in holiday activities together like sing, cook and bake. Then all of the students and their buddies get together for a dance at Elk’s Lodge where they have a holiday meal.
“My buddy and I are most likely going to make gingerbread houses this year like we did last year, and then our chapter Christmas dance at Elks Lodge is a blast,” junior Best Buddies member Hayley Lang said.
Key Club, an organization where students conduct charitable acts for the community, similarly celebrate the holidays by holding socials to help others. This year for Thanksgiving they held a social where members had a silent auction for baked goods and freebies from Chick-fil-A, Sonic, and James Coney Island to raise money. The club also supports the Eliminate Project, through which organizations such as Kiwanis International and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) joine forces to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus which steals the lives of nearly 60,000 innocent babies and a significant number of women each year. Kiva Microloan, a program where less fortunate people in countries get money, is at the top of their list right now. Key Club also made paper turkeys with thankful notes on them to decorate the Krause center, a childrens’ center, for the holidays. Their final events of 2011 is the December social where they make shoe boxes for Project Christmas Child and various volunteer projects planned for Dec. 19.
“Being a part of this organization is an honor, I love helping out and it’s a lot of fun being with friends,” senior Key Club president Kristan Schiele said. “While helping others, it also looks really good for college applications. It’s nice helping others have a good Christmas.”
Likewise, Spanish Honor Society collected 82 cans for Katy Christian Ministries and had a Salsa dance social. They are also sponsoring a child from The Boys and Girls Club to help them provide Christmas presents this holiday season.
