The holidays are a time of family, friends, fun and most importantly food. As senior in college, Catie Beth Bishop comes home for her last Thanksgiving and Christmas as a college undergrad and reflects on what her favorite holiday traditions are.
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“For Thanksgiving, we do lunch with my Dad’s side of the family and then dinner with my Mom’s side. So, somehow I have to manage two Thanksgiving meals and two Christmas meals each year.” 

Her favorite part of the holidays, she says, is the all the “craziness” that comes with having the whole family together. 

“Being away at college in North Carolina for the past three and a half years has really made me appreciate my time with my family even more and I cherish the holiday breaks I have when I can come home,” she says. 

Since the majority of her family lives in Georgia, near her hometown of Marietta, it’s never a doubt that the whole family will be home and together each and every holiday. 

“Things get a little chaotic, but I love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Catie Beth says while continuing to list family member upon family member that is in attendance each holiday gathering. 

Following the two Thanksgiving meals Catie Beth and her siblings and stepsiblings have to manage to hold down, the family usually all goes to see a movie together before calling it a day. 

“I can’t wait to come home for Christmas for a month-long break and do it all over again,” she says. 

For Catie Beth, Christmas is a repeat of Thanksgiving, only bigger. 

“Christmas Eve we always have dinner at my Nana and Papa’s house followed by church and swapping presents. I have never spent a Christmas Eve anywhere else,” she says. 

Christmas day is spent at her Mom’s house and her stepsiblings come over for another holiday meal and presents. 

“Luckily Santa still comes and sees me and my siblings, but I think it might be my last with graduation just around the corner and having to actually be a grown up soon,” she says. 

Whatever the holiday, whatever the tradition, Catie Beth is all around thankful for such a wonderful family to always be able to come home to.