Every year at Christmas and Thanksgiving, people put on their loosest sweatpants and baggiest shirts to sit down and eat huge meals. These meals can be prepared for days and can be gone in minutes. Even before the actual holiday, there are lots of cookies, candy, and other great snacks.

Mistletoe Marketplace comes at the beginning of November to bring Christmas cheer and lots of eating. This can be seen as the gateway event of holiday eating. With countless free samples and Christmas-themed foods to buy, this sets up the season of eating.

To others, Halloween is seen as the opening into winter eating. Binge-eating candy from trick-or-treating builds an ability to eat a lot that is carried on through Christmas.

The first big event in eating is Thanksgiving dinner. According to Wikipedia, the most popular Thanksgiving food is sweet potatoes. However, among the students of Jackson Prep, this has not quite proven to be true. Sophomore Eleanor Baker’s favorite food is mashed potatoes, while 8th grader Liddy Hurst’s favorite food is green bean casserole. Other common favorites are stuffing, salad, macaroni and cheese, and, of course, turkey. Pies are also very loved within the Prep community. Pecan pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, even sweet potato pie are all commonly served and adored at many students’ dinners.

Between Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, and gingerbread, there is plenty for people to feast on during the Christmas season, even before the big meal. Christmas parties and other gatherings give everyone a chance to eat these to their heart’s content. Many restaurants and other stores have special Christmas foods and deals, so it is very tempting to eat a lot.

Christmas dinner, however appears to be the main event. There is much more variation in this meal, with ham, turkey, roast beef, and chicken as the entrees and countless side options that depend on family traditions.

All the foods so far this season have reached everyone’s expectations, and meals in coming weeks will definitely do so too.