Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Ho, ho holiday traditions from ODU, William and Mary



Wishing all our coaches, players and readers a wonderful Christmas. We thank the folks from Old Dominion and William and Mary who took the time to share some of their favorite holiday traditions with us.

"I'm going to Busch Gardens with the kids. I'm looking forward to taking part in the Williamsburg festivities."
    -- William and Mary Coach Ed Swanson on his newest holiday tradition

"We have a gift exchange, and it's really competitive in my family. If we see a gift we like, we're going to go for it. "
     -- ODU's Destinee Young

"The food, definitely, because on Christmas we cook the same thing that we cook at Thanksgiving, only it's more. (Her fave?) Mashed potatoes!"
      -- ODU's Shae Kelley

"I love to sing. I like classic hip hop and to sing. I think probably being with my mom and dad and the nephews and nieces and singing songs and making them laugh. I like Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas," and I love "Joy to the World" because my mom's name is Joy. It's always fun games on Christmas Eve, and I'm the big kid out of all of them."
     -- ODU Coach Karen Barefoot

"We do a Secret Santa ($40 limit) and on Christmas Eve the entire family gets together and hands out the gifts we got each other. But the greatest gift is actually being with your family on Christmas Day. It''s really hard when you're an athlete because you don't get to see your family that often. Actually having time off from being an athlete and spending time with your family is the best Christmas present you can get."
    -- William and Mary's Jazmen Boone

"Whether it's "Jingle Bells" or "White Christmas," I always bring my guitar out for Christmas and play with my boys."
    -- ODU assistant Trina Patterson

"I'm looking forward to my grandparents coming down to visit every year, and sometimes, my grandma from Hong Kong comes over and we get to spend time with her. And my birthday's actually the 22nd so we have a big dinner for my birthday." Doesn't it kind of stink having a birthday so close to Christmas? "People think that, but actually, it's like I get double."
    -- William and Mary's Marlena Tremba

"Not home this year but when she is, ODU's Becca Allison says, "We always drive out to my grandparents house. We have turkey, ham and what's that Christmas pudding called? You put whiskey on it and light it on fire? We do that every year."
   --ODU's Becca Allison

"We have Secret Santa, so we pick a name." (In the interest of her recipient being a LadySwish reader, we must stop there, but it's a great gift!)
   -- ODU's Galaisha Goodhope

"Seeing my family is one of my best parts. Christmas Eve is the big thing, because I have to fly back on Christmas day. I make baklava with my grandmother every year for Christmas. We're not Greek; we're French and English, but it's really good!"
 -- William and Mary's Kaitlyn Mathieu

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