By Cami Yee
Every holiday season, a plethora of Christmas catalogs are delivered to my house by mail. From Amazon to Costco and Scholastic, my younger sister and I always make sure to collect them all. Ever since we were little, we loved the feeling of receiving tangible mail, specifically these catalogs, which shone with bright colors and the newest holiday gifts. Despite her being a sophomore and I a senior, we would always make sure to set aside some time to look at all of the catalogs we had accumulated from October to December.
Our process for our tradition is simple. Grab colored pens, preferably blue, red, and black, and circle the items we wanted and scratch out the items we didn’t. Annually, we would go to work, scanning through the brightly colored pages, flipping through the thin magazine for items that would catch our eye. We would bicker over the smallest things, debating on everything from whether an Amazon Kindle was a good gift to get someone to how popular Peppa Pig is nowadays. As we’ve grown up, we have moved away from the bickering and mostly reminisce about how we miss certain cartoon characters. As we’ve grown up, I’ve begun to cherish the moments with my sister even more, especially as I move closer and closer to leaving for college next year.
Whether that be on FaceTime or in person, I intend to keep up my tradition with my sister when I go to college. Who knows? We might even continue this tradition into our adulthood and with our kids. I’ll tell you this, whenever I see a Christmas catalog, I am reminded of my unwavering love for my sister and the memories we have made together.