As soon as December dawns, the usual Biola spirit rises to an all-time high. Biolans return to campus after Thanksgiving break and waste no time decorating their dorms to the hilt and pulling on their ugly Christmas sweaters for all halls. While men and women commonly view things differently, the Christmas season widens the gap between genders even more.

It turns out that the females tend to sentimentalize the Christmas season more than males, filling their holiday hopes with hot chocolate, fireside chats with loved ones and warm memories of past Christmas traditions. Male students view the season with equal excitement, yet less structural expectation — without many solidified thoughts on what gifts to buy or specific expectations for what time at home will bring.

Shop ‘til they drop

The females at Biola seem to have a more tactful game plan to Christmas gifting.

For example, Taylor Marcucci, junior elementary education major, has already finished her Christmas shopping. She started in October in order to ration out her money. Marcucci set apart money specifically for Christmas and then casually shopped in her free time. Her favorite stores this year for gifts were Target, Patagonia, Birkenstock and Forever 21.

The amount Marcucci is willing to spend on others depends on the person. For her mom and sister, she prefers to pick out gifts targeted toward their interests and dropped a few extra dollars for them. For her friends, she spent $10 each because she admitted that gift giving adds up.

Taylor Harmon, freshman Christian ministries major, has not done any Christmas shopping yet but has sketched out her Christmas shopping approach and set aside $60 to spend. She intends to shop at Target and Oh Hello Friend, a small, unique boutique in downtown Fullerton.

Mariah Menard, an undeclared freshman, has not yet been able to actually start her Christmas shopping either but has strategized where she will go. She plans to shop at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie and envisions spending about $350 this year.

Thrifty yet nifty

On the other hand, a few Biola males seem to approach Christmas with more ease and less expectations.

Andrew Nelson, junior intercultural studies major, also has not yet started his Christmas shopping. However, his spending will most likely not exceed $10 a person as he plans on shopping at a couple different thrift stores. The amount Nelson is willing to spend varies depending on the person; he said he identifies himself as more of a funny gift giver and therefore does not usually have to spend a fortune.

Robert Rodriguez, junior sociology major, has not accomplished any of his Christmas shopping either. Last year, he was able to spend $250 due to the income he received working at Stater Bros. Since that is not the case anymore, Rodriguez cannot spend nearly as much as he did the year before and will most likely succumb to thrift store shopping as well.

Although Chase Webster, junior biblical studies major, said that he has done zero shopping thus far, he has planned the most out of the males interviewed. He intends to buy gift cards to restaurants in order to have more quality time with the recipients, and will most likely spend a total of $100 for all of his gifts.

“I’m not really a gifts person, so just to be with them is enough,” Webster said.

Webster views the time away from school with a simple expectation: to rest and spend time with each family member.

While gifts, money and travel plans swim through everyone’s heads, Webster said that he enjoys the original Christmas purpose of celebrating Jesus’ birth. In one of his favorite traditions, Webster and his family place birthday candles on cinnamon rolls and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus on Christmas morning.

While the other men do not know their precise Christmas plans yet, they do know what sort of things they do not want this season to include. They also have come up with their Christmas wishlists even though they haven’t given too much thought to what they will get others.

Nelson does not like receiving clothes for Christmas.

“It’s like you’re cheated out of your Christmas gift. I’d rather get LEGOs,” Nelson said.

When Rodriguez was younger, he used to hate getting clothes. Although he still does not particularly enjoy it, clothes can now be an acceptable gift depending on who buys them for him.

If Rodriguez could have anything for Christmas, he would want money to travel or pay off school. However, he took the practical approach this season and asked for movies and shoes.

Treasuring traditions

The males still look forward to the seasonal togetherness and rest that Christmas brings.

In Rodriguez’s opinion, Christmas day is anti-climactic. He enjoys the season in essence but hates how quickly it passes. Christmas, to him, is the entire season’s progression up until Christmas. After Christmas day, the season sadly loses its color.

“You have things to look forward to and things to do. Like, having a Christmas party [to go to] … but Christmas day you have nothing to look forward to, so it’s just hard to live in the moment,” Rodriguez said.

Nelson cherishes the Christmas season above all others.

“I love the Christmas season because it’s the best time of the year. Hallmark becomes awesome,” Nelson said.

The females also tended to relish past Christmas traditions and anticipate making new memories.

“It is a lot less now about the gifts and what we get and a lot more about getting to see family that I haven’t seen,” Marcucci said.

Marcucci looks forward to giving gifts most. On top of this, she loves seeing all of the Christmas lights and how everyone joins together during the holiday season. She enjoys the holiday spirit that surrounds December and the overall cheer that the month emits.

One of her favorite seasonal traditions is walking through Thoroughbred St in Alta Loma with her family while sipping hot chocolate. Residents of each house on this street sign a contract upon move-in agreeing to go all-out when decorating for Christmas. Each year, Marcucci revels in walking along the sidewalk while taking in all of the extravagant adornments.

After being away from home, Harman treasures family time to an even greater extent.

“My favorite Christmas tradition is the midnight Christmas service at my church because it’s not only my family, but my church family.” Harman said.

What excites Menard most about Christmas is spending time with family. She can’t wait to return home to gather with her family to decorate the Christmas tree and witness her brother challenging himself to finish three gallons of eggnog in a week.

“Christmas is a really big deal for me. It’s my favorite time of the year,” Menard said.