David Street Station Employee Traditions
We love to see new holiday traditions created at David Street Station. Watching families and friends enjoying the holiday season through events like the Christmas Tree Lighting, Skate with Santa, and Cinema and Skate, makes us so happy. Seeing all of these moments and new traditions made us want to share our own favorite holiday traditions with you!
Family is important to all of us at David Street Station and Downtown Development Authority Director, Kevin Hawley, loves to share a special tradition with his family so they can take time to enjoy each other right before Christmas day. Each year, on Christmas Eve, Kevin, his wife, and two young daughters head over to Firerock for dinner. They choose FIrerock not only for the food, but they love how it is decorated, too. Cooking on Christmas day is an all-day event at his house, so they love the relaxation of not having to cook the day before. Going early to beat the crowd is important so they can always get a spot next to the fireplace.
For David Street Station Operations Manager, Jackie Landess, spending Christmas Eve with her dad’s side-of-the-family is her favorite tradition. It is one of the only times of the year they are all together making it extra special. Seeing aunts, uncles, and cousins at her parents’ house for dinner is fun, but now that her cousins are having babies, it is even better. After dinner, a game of some sort is usually played. Sometimes it is a white elephant, some years it is a game course throughout the house that usually ends in a heated game of Left, Right, Center, but every year is a blast. She recalls a favorite memory from when she and her sister were little, “Starting when we were little, my sister and I try to convince my parents to let us open one gift on Christmas Eve, because they let us the year before. The trick is, they didn’t actually let us open one on Christmas Eve the year before. It never works, and we still try to this day.”
Team member Julie Schmitt couldn’t choose between her two favorite traditions. As a kid, she would always wake up first and then wake up her two older brothers. When it was time to open gifts, they’d line up youngest to oldest and cover each other eyes, making a “train” into the living room to see what Santa brought. As they have gotten older, one favorite tradition remains. There are always lots of DVD’s wrapped under the tree each year so after they are unwrapped a movie marathon begins. Doing this each year, watching movies, lounging by the fire, enjoying leftovers, and spending time together it the best tradition she could ask for.
We hope you have enjoyed finding some new holiday traditions at David Street Station. We know we have! We would love to hear your favorite traditions when we see you #WhereCasperComesTogether.