During the season for giving and cheer, Baker University students have different ways of celebrating Christmas.

For senior Gloria Atanmo, the holiday can be pretty hectic with six brothers and sisters, but also fun and entertaining.

“We celebrate Jesus’ birth, like a birthday party … and then we open gifts,” Atanmo said.

They follow the traditions of praying and singing praises to get in the spirit, especially Atanmo’s favorite song, “Angels, We Have Heard On High,” which she joked was due to the praising of her name in the lyrics.

Atanmo also explained how her mother likes to mix things up each Christmas with a particular way of wrapping. Her mother will put empty boxes under the tree until Christmas day and the siblings will be able to unwrap their presents that are wrapped in trash bags.

“She’s pretty much given up on wrapping them,” Atanmo said.

From wrapping gifts in trash bags to singing classic songs around the piano, sophomore Morgan Giudicessi enjoys putting on a performance for her loved ones.

“We all go to my grandma’s and my grandma plays the piano and I sing songs for everyone,” Giudicessi said.

Giudicessi is involved with the choir on campus and has even made the Chamber Choir as a soprano. Nothing is more rewarding for her than being able to share her musical talent with her family.

While singing music can be fun, sometimes it’s all about watching a good movie to get into the spirit. Senior Patrick King has a different way of beginning his Christmas morning.

Every Christmas morning, King and his sister wake up to DVDs placed outside of their doors. The movies are usually ones that they want to watch and will entertain them for a couple more hours in the morning.

“It started when we were really young to keep us from going in and jumping on our parents yelling, ‘Get up. Get up. It’s Christmas. It’s Christmas,’” King said. “It’s fun.”