Sam Prinsen Creative Business student
Ever since I was a little kid , I wanted to have a dog . I didn ’ t care what kind of dog , big or small , I just wanted a dog I could play with , walk and pet . But my parents didn ’ t really want to get a dog since they were afraid that they were going to be the ones to walk with him and had to do all the work . My brother and I pleaded for years for them to consider getting a dog , and we would promise them that we would care for him day and night , no exceptions . Well , it was still a no . On the Christmas day of 2008 , my parents told my brother and I that we were going to some store to buy a mattress or whatever ( the excuse didn ’ t make sense at all but hey , I was 11 , don ’ t judge me ). When we arrived at the destination , I was a bit confused since the store wasn ’ t exactly a store , but instead a house . We got in and I saw that the entire home was filled with pictures , statues , paintings of nothing other than dalmatian dogs . I was thinking to myself ‘’ What kind of freak show did we end up in ?’’. But then , the best moment of my life happened . I saw this mini 2-month-old puppy running around the house like a maniac with zero intentions of slowing down . I still just thought we were meeting friends of theirs or something and didn ’ t really think much of it other than how cute the little doggie was . The climax came when my mom and dad looked at us and said ‘’ Meet your new friend ’’. Needless to say , this was the best Christmas ever and he ’ s still my best friend in the world .
Annet Ghering Leisure and Events lecturer
My favorite Christmas memory is travelling to the UK with my daughter when she was about a year old . I had been living in the UK for some time before she was born and had been back to see friends regularly after my return to the Netherlands . December 1998 , I felt it was time my friends meet my daughter and I decided to travel to Clanville , where my closest friend lived , by plane . I was well prepared so had lots of things for her to be entertained with on the way to the airport , and on the plane but the trip did not end at London City Airport . I still had to get to London Waterloo railway station and from there to Andover so that meant lots of escalators , platforms , changes . All with my daughter in a stroller and my hold all on my back . It was a true Christmas gift to be singing ‘ The Twelve Days of Christmas ’ to her on the bus , on the train .. all the way to Andover and soothe her to sleep that way . I think she did not see any of the Christmas decorations London is famous for , but I like to think I enjoyed them for her . Whenever I hear The Twelve Days of Christmas , I am always reminded of this trip , of my daughter being so small , of my friends meeting me at the station , of the pure happiness I felt at all of this !