Everyone says that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year but they have different reasons to why. It might be the Christmas walk in downtown Geneva, ice skating in Millennium Park, walking around in Lincoln-Park Zoo to see the lights, going to the Christkindlmarket or even going to the Morton Arboretum.  

For science teacher Jennifer Hoemann it’s eating fondue with her family on Christmas Eve. Hoemann realizes that to most of us this may seem like an odd tradition but to her, it’s the best part of her Christmas.

“The best part of eating the fondue is getting to sit down with my family and actually talk to all of them and have a meaningful conversation,” Hoemann said. 

Besides just the fondue one of Hoemann’s favorite Christmas memory from when she was a child was when she got her favorite toy. The toy was a Petster robot which responded to different amounts of claps.

For science teacher Kenneth Paoli, Christmas is all about being with his family. Paoli has created many different memories with his family during the holiday season, for him it would be crazy to envision Christmas without them. Due to parents being divorced Paoli never had much of a traditional Christmas because he was always hopping back and forth between his parents and their families. Through all of the craziness, he still has some memorable Christmas memories.

“Going to church to like a candlelit service with my family is my most memorable Christmas tradition that I can remember doing ever since I was a child,” Paoli said.