Students reflect on the most memorable holiday presents
Madelyn Evans
Staff Writer
December 19, 2021
With December comes Christmas, and with Christmas comes the season of giving. Now I don't know about you, but I always enjoy giving and receiving gifts. It’s fun because you never know what you’re getting, and because you never know what you’re getting, it can be a fun time to make someone laugh by giving them random, out of the blue, ridiculously crazy things that would otherwise never be seen anywhere else. Some time ago, I was thinking about all the outlandish gifts that can be exchanged during the holiday season as jokes. In addition to these amusing gifts, there are also gifts given that are fun and sentimental, and it’s always warming to receive those during the cheerful season. So, with this thought process in mind, I decided it would be great to hear about all of the shenanigans that WHS students have experienced, both the good and bad. When WHS students were asked “What was the best Christmas gift you received?” as well as “what was the worst Christmas gift you received?” There were a variety of answers, both funny and heartwarming, and I hope you enjoy them.
Maija Pastran, grade 9.
Best gift… “Karaoke machine, I LOVE jamming out to music!”
Worst gift… “Santa gave me one roller skate. Mom had to go to Dick’s to get the other pair.”

Bryer Lease, grade 9
Best gift… “I got my gaming computer for Christmas.”
Worst gift… “Coal scented deodorant.”
Noah Flynn, grade 10
Best gift… “The best Christmas gift I have ever received is the electric guitar that I still use today. I got it during the Christmas of 2018.”
Worst gift… “The worst gift I’ve ever received is a pair of earbuds. This is because I already had an almost identical set of earbuds. If this hadn’t been the case, it would have been a great gift.”
Olivia Blanding, grade 9
Best gift… “Probably a new phone that I got on Christmas day.”
Worst gift… “My worst Christmas present was a pink laptop that didn’t work.”
Bailey Mobley, grade 9
Best gift… “My first phone. It was Christmas day and I was waiting for one for a while cause I was one of the last kids my age to be able to get one.”
Worst gift… “White elephant. It was toilet paper and a broken ornament.”
Joshua Kirk, grade 12
Best gift… “My best Christmas gift I ever received was a DS from my parents when I was roughly 6. It was my first introduction to video games outside of Wii Sports and I will never forget it.”
Worst gift… “The worst gift I ever got was a monster truck that was connected to the controller by a chord. So every time the car went away from me it would be yanked back.”
Brooke Garcia, grade 9
Best gift… “A dog. I’ve wanted a dog for sooo long and last year my mom walked into the room on Christmas Day with a puppy and surprised me. That dog is now my absolute best friend.”

Worst gift… “Kinetic Sand. I received it at a White Elephant party and I honestly didn’t like it at all. It was so messy and weird.”
Sarah Stone, grade 9
Best gift… “Honestly, I think it would have to be when I got my first drawing tablet.”
Worst gift… “My friend had a mystery prank gift in this bag and I chose it to realize it was a joke lip balm.”
Stivalyz Hernandez, grade 9
Best gift… “The best Christmas present I have received was a Barbie house. It had a kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms. I used to be so obsessed with it when I was a little girl.”
Worst gift… “The worst Christmas gift I ever received was shoes that I didn’t like. They were yellow.”
Isa Galan, 9
Best gift… “The best gift I’ve ever received was probably a microscope. It was a real, expensive one which I think is so cool.”
Worst… “The worst gift I’ve ever received was a very babyish arts and crafts project. It was like a tie dye kit and you can make your own bag. I guess it’s kind of cool but definitely not my style.”
Alexis Norris, 10
Best gift… “My dog.”
Worst gift… “Sofia the First nail polish.”
Larkan Hatton, grade 12
Best gift… “An American Girl doll from my grandma when I was 10.”
Worst gift… “Probably something I ordered online with my money and then I thought it never came and then on Christmas my mom wrapped it and gave it to me as a gift.”
Zach Lunsford, grade 10
Best gift… “The best Christmas gift that I have ever received would be the time when I got a puppy for Christmas. My parents got a Labrador Retriever as a family gift.”
Worst gift… “The worst Christmas gift I have received would be when I got perfume as a joke from one of my aunts.”
Emma McGregory, grade 9
Best gift… “I got my dog a few days before Christmas. We were at my Aunt’s house and it was a surprise.”
Worst gift… “I got a craft set that was desert-themed and it was clearly something that I did not enjoy.”
Ava Legeay, grade 10
Best gift… “I received a lego set (this was when I was 8)”
Worst gift… “I received stickers that were meant for little girls when I was 14.”
Maren Hilbert, grade 10
Best gift… “A phone because I had a Samsung for so long it started to crash and my parents thought I was responsible enough even though I cracked the screen protector within an hour.”
Worst gift… “Hand sanitizer because although it’s useful just why?”
Best gift… “I got this drone for Christmas and it didn’t last that long because I crashed it a month later.”
Worst gift… “A lunchbox.”

Gabrielle Balint, grade 10
Best gift… “2 years ago [received] a revived blanket from my grandmother’s friend. It was actually a blanket that my grandmother was working on for me before she died. My grandmother’s friend finished the blanket and sent it to me.”
Worst gift… “Hand sanitizer because I already have enough.”
Madyson Jones, grade 11
Best gift… “A phone.”
Worst gift… “A box full of old McDonald's toys.”
Alyssa Morgan, grade 11
Best gift… “My computer.”
Worst gift… “A steak n shake hamburger phone (it was the worst because it didn't work and I got it in a white elephant exchange) but as a little kid I still played with it.”
Sydney Smith, grade 12
Best gift… “I got a puppy for Christmas two years ago. I got to pick him up in January of last year. He’s been a passion project and we’re getting ready to sled with him.”
Worst gift… “The worst Christmas gift I received was a guilt trip from someone who got us a gift (golf clubs) and before Christmas he found out that we didn’t like golf. So he gave us money to pick our own Christmas presents after returning the golf clubs and being all like “Well I didn’t know you didn’t like golf”. I mean Dude, who likes golf? Old and retired people with nothing else to do and a mission to mess their shoulders up.”
Mackenzie Gretter, grade 10
Best gift… “My dogs.”
Worst gift… “A movie about monkeys.”

Jessica Zou, grade 10
Best gift… “The best Christmas gift I ever received is when I got an art kit from a teacher I was really close to in Elementary School.”
Worst gift… “Worst Christmas gift I ever got is when I got something that I already had like the same book.”
Taylor Andelin, grade 10
Best gift… “The best gift I received was a handmade necklace. One of my friends found a charm that said BFF on the side and was an open heart which they made into a necklace with chain and some other charms they found that they thought I would like.”
Worst gift… “The worst Christmas gift I ever received were ugly Christmas socks that were snowmen but they were so itchy that I could wear them.”
Samuel Vance, grade 12
Best gift… “I got a nice pair of Bluetooth headphones for Christmas one year.”
Worst gift… “Last Christmas I got a sweater that didn’t fit me for a college that I have no plans on attending.”
Elizabeth Schuth, grade 9
Best gift… “My dad got me all the Pez-candy flavors in existence including chocolate mango and Pepsi so that was pretty cool.”
Worst gift… “A summer sausage from my aunt.”
Scarlett Kopp, grade 9
Best gift… “The best gift I have ever received was my phone for Christmas. Another really nice gift was my drawing utensils such as alcohol markers and I got that for Christmas too.”
Worst gift… “Mascara, the first time I wore this I hated it so for a joke my parents got me some.”
Yoanna Mendoz -Lopez, grade 9
Best gift… “The best Christmas gift I received was when I was 9 or so. I got a full set of first wave monster high dolls.”
Worst gift… “A selfie stick.”
Landin Schaaf, grade 9
Best gift… “Sidemen Bucket Hat.”
Worst gift… “John Fortnite Action figure.”
Elisabeth Snowden, grade 9
Best gift… “My phone on Christmas from my mom.”
Worst gift… “A Minnie Mouse picture frame from my grandma’s friend.”
Owen Lyons, grade 9
Best gift… “Disney Infinity. It was a game me and my brother had been asking for for a long time and when we finally got it we both literally cried happy tears. It was something I will never forget. I was like 8, so still young.”
Worst gift… “I’ve gotten a lot of books and clothes. No gift is truly bad because the thought of it is what counts.”
Ryan Zalud, grade 10
Best gift… “My PS4.”
Worst gift… “I got a vacuum cleaner from a family white elephant.”
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