Novermber/December 2024
what’s in THIS ISSUE
Alvernia Sports Coverage
Movie Review
Volume 62 Issue 3
Countdown to Christmas Kaitlyn Knopp Contributing Writer The Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas is coming in hot – perhaps too hot for some. With the marathon starting on October 18, two weeks before Halloween, some wonder if the Christmas cheer is premature. Others disagree because, in 2024, there are less than four weeks between Christmas and Thanksgiving. So, some are storing the fall decorations early and are beginning to deck the halls. This shorter time frame will give people lots to consider, whether they should decorate for Christmas early or stay with tradition and decorate after Thanksgiving. This year is the 15th anniversary of the Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas. Hallmark’s Christmas movies start Friday, October 18, this year and goes until Saturday, December 18. Hallmark has new movies on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Enjoy a hot cup of cocoa while watching these movies! Picture from pix4free.
Hallmark is bringing out all the Christmas cheer one could want or need this year. One fan favorite from last year, “Three Wise Men,” has a sequel this year, “Three Wiser Men and a Boy.” Lacey Chabert, a favorite actress of many, stars in “The Christmas Quest” this Christmas season on Sunday, December 1. I am excited to watch all the new Hallmark movies this Christmas season. Hallmark brings back amazing actors each year, such as Lacey Chabert. She is a favorite actress of many. She has also been starring in Hallmark since 2010. Last year, I loved watching “Three
Wise Men” and excited to watch the sequel, “Three Wiser Men”, this year. It was filled with funny scenes and was a heartfelt reminder of Christmas. Perhaps you are not a Christmas celebrant. Even though Hallmark is known mainly for their sappy Christmas movies, one of their new movies this year is “Hanukkah on the Rocks”. Hallmark also has a new movie, “Leah’s Perfect Gift,” about a Jewish woman who goes with her boyfriend to celebrate Christmas with his family. Hallmark’s holiday fair is intended for the whole
planned, though a common response given by all the interviewees was how they’d be spending time with their family and friends: CONRAD: “Going home to see my family, eat probably way too much food, and spend time with my cat Goose!” BAUMGARD: “I’ll be spending a lot of time with my family, my friends, and my boyfriend. My favorite part of Thanksgiving Day is always the parade, so I will definitely be watching that. It’s also become a tradition for my friends and I to wake up early on black Friday and go shopping together! Other than that, I will definitely be taking a lot of time to relax and write and read!” LOVE: “The simple answer is decorating for Christmas! It takes a lot of time to get everything ready. Plus, my daughter is home on break so we’ll hang out and most likely do things that will cost me a lot of money. It was easier
when I just had to buy Polly Pockets.” LOWREY: “I have two small children (my son Ethan is 8 and my daughter Evelyn is 3), so although we’re not travelling, my family and I have some plans to make the holiday exciting for the kids. First, Ethan is involved with the Cub Scouts, and one of their main fundraisers for the year is making and selling wreaths, so we’ll be working with the other families in his den throughout the first part of the week to assemble and decorate those wreaths. We also typically have a “movie” night and watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” sometime during the week of Thanksgiving. After the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, which we usually spend with my extended family who all live in the Reading area, my husband and I usually try to put up our Christmas tree on either Black Friday or that weekend. The kids like to help but they
family to watch together, but some people prefer a more traditional experience. Students around campus are looking forward to watching “The Polar Express,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and “Elf.” Watch “Elf” or “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” if traveling upstate for the holidays. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is a great movie that will cheer you up before spending time with family or kickstart your Christmas vacation with family and friends. If you’re “Home Alone” for the holidays, you can watch that franchise or swap to “The Grinch.” Binging on Netflix? “The Christmas Chronicles” and “The Christmas Chronicles 2” are ready for you. “A Christmas Prince” has two other movies to binge after it. “The Princess Switch,” starring Vanessa Hudgens, is another movie trilogy that is a must-watch this December. You have many options to binge by yourself or watch together with family and friends this holiday season!
An Alvernian Thanksgiving
Recipes
Education
don’t have very long attention spans at that age, so it takes us a few days to complete. The week after Thanksgiving is also my daughter’s birthday, so we might have a small party for her that weekend as well.” All-and-all, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year that reminds us to be grateful for what we have, even though we may encounter moments that swerve us into thinking that life has nothing to give. Though Thanksgiving may only happen once every year, we should be thankful for what we have and who we have in our lives on a daily basis because without those things, we wouldn’t know how to play the game of life. G Th ive an ks
Holiday
Kate Smith Contributing Writer It’s that time of the year again when it starts to get colder outside and the leaves on trees begin to change. The autumn calls us to put down our work and spend time with family and friends. For this issue, the Alvernian interviewed students and professors to share their plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving break, which this year is running from November 25 to November 30. The interviewees were Keira Conrad (Biology/Pre-Med major; class of 2027), Charlotte Baumgard (Literature major, Women’s Gender Studies minor, class of 2027), Communication and Digital Media Professor Kris Lowrey, and Accounting Professor Steven Love. When asked what plans people have for the upcoming break, there were a variety of responses and activities