'Tis the Season for Holiday Cheer & All That's Dear

Family stories and cultural traditions passed down from generation to generation bring to mind a tapestry of memories filled with laughter and reflection, while reminding us to be grateful for the small things in life. With the holidays around the corner, we asked team members to share their most treasured memories.

SUSAN MARTINEZ // Manager, Legal Operations and Projects // National Support Center

“Every Christmas, my husband loves to decorate the exterior of the house à la Clark Griswold (of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”). He loves creating and sharing the magic of the holiday season and 2020 was no different. It was a rough year for many people due to the pandemic and he decided he wanted to add some fun and holiday spirit by handing out tree ornaments to anyone who drove by to check out the lights. That first year we handed out over 200 ornaments, and he plans to continue that tradition for years to come.”

Jaime (Shaw) Buckhalter // Manager, Medical Dental Integration // National Support Center

“In our family it is so important to give back to those in need. During this time of year, we reflect on what we’re thankful for individually and as a family. Every November we put out our “Thankful Tree”, an empty tree-like branch, where we hang tags with messages of thankfulness. We also open up the “Thankful Tree” to any guests that may come over and encourage them to write what they are thankful for and place it on the tree. A great reminder of just how blessed we are.”

Megan Kite // Manager, Facilities // Dallas Support Center

“Growing up, my mom always made butterscotch pull-a-parts on Christmas Eve, a recipe she found from the “Joy of Baking.” We would wake up to them baking on Christmas morning. She would also number our presents instead of putting our names on them so that everyone was surprised on Christmas morning. It’s a tradition I’ve brought to my own little family.”

Sarah Milik // Assistant, Corporate Social Responsibility // National Support Center

“Every Christmas Eve, the family gets together at grandma and grandpa’s house for dinner and gift-giving, but everyone’s favorite part of the night comes after dinner and gifts. I’m not sure when or why this tradition started, but every year my grandma custom orders a huge piece of chocolate molded to look like Santa Claus. She chooses one of the kids, gives them a hammer and they proceed to smash the chocolate, which we all get to eat together. We take pictures and video every year and have an entire album dedicated to all the smashing over the years.”

Ken Davis // Vice President, Dentist Development // National Support Center

Ken Davis, pictured in the back holding up a tablet.

“Our Christmas tradition grew out of our daughter’s penchant for investigating the contents of her gifts before Christmas. After discovering she would open gifts with her name and reseal them, we decided to put numbers on the gift tags instead of names. To make it more interesting, we created a list of clues for each recipient and matched them to the numbers for each child. As we sat to open presents, we would read the clues and everyone would guess who it belonged to. That person would then read the next clue, slowing down the gift-opening frenzy. Even after our kids became adults and had kids of their own, we’re now going on 23 years with this holiday tradition.”

Jasmine Bennison // Regional Marketing Manager // New Mexico/Southern Colorado region

“Every year on Dec.1, three of Santa’s little elves visit the corner of Farragut and Quinn Street to bring a little extra magic to the Bennison home. Like clockwork, Elsa, Sparkle and Glitter bring three gingerbread house kits and a whole lot of excitement for my three daughters. The girls love waking up each day to see what sort of mischief the elves got into and it has become a running tradition. Our elves truly represent the kickoff of the holidays and moving them each day creates so much joy.”