Christmas music has been playing even before Thanksgiving, and every night, more and more houses are lit with Christmas lights. As Christmas quickly approaches, holiday spirit begins to rise in anticipation. And with that comes the Christmas dance – a time for couples to get dressed up, enjoy a nice meal and dance the night away. With two days until the dance, everybody has established their escort to the dance, along with colors of their dress and flowers. The freshman, just out of middle school, are more likely to attend; they’re going from a dance in a cafeteria with a single card board fireplace as a decoration and a basket of candy canes to snack on, (from what I remember) to a banquet hall with proper Christmas decor and a food buffet with some pretty good food to pick from. “[This is] my first dance at the high school and I hear it is way better than the ones down at the middle school,” Freshman Amanda Fischer said. With this night quickly approaching, the excitement begins to rise, but is it all really worth it? Since couples tickets were not offered this time around, they were unable to get a $10 discount opposed to previous years. Unlike prom where everybody seems to have to have a date, having one for the Christmas dance, however, is not as vital. “It’s just going to be fun to go and hang out with my friends,” Fischer said. This is my first year not going, and it’s quite a relief. I’m not dumping the costly burden on my boyfriend. Think about it: guys aren’t too interested in the dance. Most of the guys go if, and only if, they have a date. They’re the ones who are supposed to pay for the tickets and flowers, and half the time, they end up paying for the pictures, too! The men are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to the costs, but some guys are optimistic; Freshman Patrick Baker said, “ It’s my first high school formal dance.”