Top 5 Christmas activities

By: Isabel Strack

Putting up Christmas decorations

Whether you decide to get a fake Christmas tree or a real one, making a perfect tree is a classic Christmas activity. Many people think that putting up Christmas decorations in November is too early, but studies show that people who put Christmas decorations up early are happier. A lot of people enjoy putting decorations up with their family, especially when you’re decorating your Christmas trees. Christmas trees are some of the most popular and traditional symbols of the Christmas season.

Building gingerbread houses

Many people enjoy building gingerbread houses during the Christmas season, but outside the holiday season it doesn’t get much recognition. You can make your own gingerbread house by scratch, or like many others you can buy a gingerbread kit from a store if you want things to be easier.

Exchange gifts/Secret Santa

During the holiday season it’s very popular for friend groups or family to do gift exchanges. If you aren’t aware of what a gift exchange or Secret Santa is; it’s basically where you and your group of family friends draw a name out of a hat and whatever name you get is the person you buy the gift for. There will usually be a budget you have to stay in for the gift.

Bake Christmas cookies

A classic Christmas tradition for families during the holiday season is to bake festive Christmas cookies together. Many people will use Christmas cookie cutters for the cookie dough to make it into holiday shapes like trees, bells, stars, wreaths, etc. Once your cookies are out of the oven you should let them cool down and then you can decorate the cookies with whatever color icing you like and any sprinkles you’d want to use.

Build a snowman

It’s like a tradition every Christmas season for kids to build a snowman right after it snows. Once you throw your jacket on and gloves to build your snowman you can use carrots for the nose, blueberries for the eyes, buttons, and mouth. If you have old hats and scarfs laying around your house you can add those to your snowman. This is a great activity to do in the winter when you’re bored and want to feel festive.

Most popular pet names

By: Karl Salkowski

Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com

Pets have lived alongside humans for millennia. Pets provide a variety of mental and physical benefits. According to Health.ucdavis.edu pets have been found to help lower stress and anxiety, ease feelings of loneliness, and give a sense of purpose to pet owners. That’s not all. Pets have also been proven to help owners establish healthy routines. 60% of dog owners meet the recommended weekly amount of exercise compared to 31% of people without a dog.

Names are very important for how we go about our lives. They contribute to how our communities see us and how we see ourselves. According to Students.ubc.ca names carry deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections. Because of how important they are, lots of thought is often put into assigning them.

Human names often follow patterns or trends. This is why you may associate some names with older or younger people. The same is true for pets. Name popularity rises and falls over time.

According to various sources including Akc.org, Amcny.org, and Embarkvet.com, these are the top dog and cat names in 2024:

Female dog names:

  1. Bella
  2. Chloe
  3. Luna
  4. Daisy
  5. Lucy

Male dog names:

  1. Milo
  2. Charlie
  3. Buddy
  4. Leo
  5. Max

Female cat names:

  1. Luna
  2. Nala
  3. Lola
  4. Willow
  5. Coco

Male cat names:

  1. Milo
  2. Oliver
  3. Charlie
  4. Loki
  5. Oreo

There are many similarities between the most popular dog and cat names. Milo and Luna seem to be the most popular pet names overall, but not very far behind them are the names Lucy and Charlie.

Although the most popular pet names are very different from the most popular human names, there are still some similarities. Pet names and human names tend to stay popular for similar amounts of time. For example, according to Amcny.org the name Max has been one of the most popular male dog names for over a decade from between 2013 and 2023. Overall, names are extremely important to how we perceive and connect with our pets.