Behind the Scenes of Cranberry’s Christmas Game

Behind the Scenes of Cranberry’s Christmas Game

Christmas at Cranberry High School has been renowned for its impeccable holiday cheer, and typically, this period of time includes a life-sized Christmas version of a well known board game. With Mrs. Dixon, the journalism teacher, on sabbatical, the execution of this Christmas game was up in the air; fortunately, seniors Hannah Niederriter and Amber Holt decided to take on the responsibility of making this game a reality from the concept all the way through game day. 

The game selected for this year’s game was The Game of Life. For those who may not be familiar with this board game, it simulates a person's travels through their life beginning with the choice to pursue college and ending with retirement. The ordinary edition of this game also includes various career paths, marriage, purchasing homes, starting families, and a plethora of other events that may occur throughout someone’s life. 

As far as the Christmas edition of this game goes, team sign-ups were held the week before on December 15-17, and a team leader meeting was conducted on December 20 to better prepare students for game day. The actual event was held on December 22 during the first four periods of Cranberry’s schedule. Furthermore, the day was divided into 2 separate games, each with approximately 25 teams. The hallways and several classrooms at the high school were transformed into over 140 game board spaces where students were able to earn money from action cards, get fired from their jobs, create New Year's resolutions, get married, adopt elves, purchase holiday-themed houses, and even file lawsuits against other teams. For those who didn’t want to participate in the Christmas edition of The Game of Life, games were held in the gymnasium, and Christmas movies were shown in the auditorium.

The winners of Game 1 were as follows: Girlboss (Madisyn Carson, Mackenzie Nelson) in 1st place, The Besties (Anastasia Frishkorn, Amiley Hawke, Brooklynn Holowell) in 2nd place, and Kids on Clearance (Carlie Gladin, Norah Turner, Easton Vogan, Sarah Milford) in 3rd place. As far as Game 2 winners go, the following teams were awarded: The Stockings (Kenzie Stalhlman, Taylor Felix, Abby Rickard) in 1st place, BTG (Ben Lindenburg, Nikolas Blauser, Noah Sanchez) in 2nd place, and OEK (Jordan Zerbe, Talon Rex, Danny DeLong, Conner Zerbe) in 3rd place. They received prizes containing holiday-themed items such as stickers, candy, pencils, and Santa hats. 

Aside from Hannah Niederriter and Amber Holt’s contributions, Ms. Daugherty, the journalism class instructor, Mrs. Motter, Senior High Student Council advisor, many faculty members, and approximately 50 students from all grade levels played a large role in making this game possible. 

The Christmas edition of The Game of Life has been one of the fondest memories of my high school career thus far. From the moment I first got involved with journalism back in 9th grade with Amber, we both resolved to recreate The Game of Life during our senior year. In spite of the strenuous circumstances surrounding our small journalism class size, Mrs. Dixon’s absence, my busy work schedule, and impending college application deadlines, Cranberry wouldn’t be the school I cherish without a Christmas-related event.

Prior to delving into the nitty gritty of the game, Amber and I were both aware that we’d be dedicating a lot of time outside of school to make this game come to life, but honestly, I don’t think I had realistic expectations for how formidable the process would be. We first started brainstorming back in mid-October, but it wasn’t until early November that planning was in full swing. In all honesty, I was kind of lost at first as to how to start… well, everything. Amber and I took some time to review the original version of The Game of Life, and during journalism class, I went through the supplies we had kept from the previous Christmas games. Unfortunately, Amber had gotten quarantined around this period of time, so much of our planning had to be carried out over video chats.

Since the progression of the game couldn’t be a linear process that all teams would follow due to size and time constraints, we determined that making the Stop Events from the board game into rooms students could visit would be the most plausible method. We also came to the consensus that the best method of incorporating the holiday spirit into the game would be through the LIFE tiles. Once Amber’s quarantine period ended, we spent every single Friday night after school crafting game mechanics or game rules until 10 or 11 at night. If I were to do the math, Amber and I probably spent upwards of 20 hours a week outside of school working on game-related tasks, at least when December 22 was approaching a little too quickly for comfort. 

A number of our peers, Mrs. Motter, and Ms. Daugherty had offered to help in any way they could, but it was incredibly difficult for us to direct other people until the game mechanics were set in stone. Amber and I certainly had a vision for what we wanted the final product of the game to look like, but instructing other people to achieve this vision was nearly impossible. It wasn’t until a couple weeks prior to the game that we could really get everyone involved in the planning process by assisting with printing documents, cutting out decorations, or writing mini game instructions. 

December 21 was when all of our efforts first began to pay off. Amber and I had thankfully managed to recruit a dozen or so of our classmates to assist with the game setup after school, and truthfully, I don’t think Amber or I were quite sure how to best divide and conquer the remaining projects. From taping the floors to decorating classrooms and sorting materials for the morning meeting, there was a lot to be done, and thankfully, we pulled everything together by staying until 9 or so that night prior to game day.

Looking back on the planning procedure as a whole, I’d be lying if I denied how stressful the Christmas edition of The Game of Life was. There were points where I found myself laughing just to cope with how much work Amber and I had left on our plates, but somehow, just somehow, I had the feeling that everything would fall into place regardless of how many sleepless nights that may entail. I’m sure that my optimism got on Amber’s nerves at times, but I wouldn’t have wanted to develop this game with anyone else. When I finally had the opportunity to stand up in front of all the game staff members we had recruited as well as the leaders of the participating teams to make some announcements, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I felt deeply satisfied with my efforts. All the smiles, laughter, and words of appreciation made this entire process worthwhile, and I sincerely hope that this tradition will continue at Cranberry for many years to come.

In all honesty, the Christmas version of The Game of Life is probably one of my most meaningful accomplishments throughout the entirety of my high school experience. Now that Hannah has given you an explanation as to how we were able to pull an event of this caliber off, it is a necessity to mention the true roots and purpose of this Christmas game. 

As far back as 8th grade, I knew that I wanted to be involved in Cranberry’s annual Christmas game in some way. I had participated in Cranberry’s Christmas edition of The Amazing Race with three of my closest friends, and I still recall our time as one of my favorite high school memories. We were army-crawling down the junior high hallway, creating colorful Chinese lanterns, being unnecessarily scared to answer trivia questions from the senior high teachers, and, of course, joking around and laughing the entire time. Not many high schools would offer an experience amounting to that much fun right before Christmas vacation. I’m incredibly thankful for the administration that has supported this event, and I truly can’t imagine Cranberry without a game every year. 

Following my experience with the Christmas game in 8th grade, I joined the journalism class in 9th grade in hopes of planning this annual event. That year, the selected game was Christmas Clue. My main role on the day of the game was to be a runner for the journalism teacher, Mrs. Dixon, and to ensure that everything ran smoothly. While this was quite the exhausting task, it truly kept me hooked on the idea of Christmas games, and it became something that I looked forward to the following year. 

The next year, I was a member of the in-person journalism class for the first time. I had taken journalism via independent study the year prior, which meant that I completed all coursework outside of the classroom. Being in the physical class meant that I could acquire more hands-on experience and develop a broader understanding of what exactly went into creating a successful game. So, I observed and assisted in the creation process of Christmas Monopoly, absorbing all of the little details that would one day come in handy for the formation of Christmas Life. 

There was one specific experience that stood out to me during the creation of Christmas Monopoly that I’ll never be able to forget; Mrs. Dixon had received an anonymous, handwritten letter from an underclassman thanking her and the journalism class from the bottom of their heart for pulling the Christmas game together. It dawned on me at that moment that this Christmas game had the potential to make someone’s Christmas special. We, a few passionate students who like to write and do photography, had the capability to give someone a Christmas who might not otherwise get one. It was this eureka moment that ignited a passion in me to continue the Christmas game come my senior year and motivate me when the workload seemed unbearable.

In 2020, a Christmas game was completely out of the question as Cranberry School District was entirely remote at the time. It was rather disappointing to those of us in journalism since the Christmas game was always eagerly anticipated. Fortunately, I helped devise a plan for and execute a virtual holiday spirit week, fittingly titled Christmas at Cranberry. While this online event ended successfully, it left me yearning for the possibility of experiencing one final Christmas game in 2021. 

The Game of Life has always been one of my favorite board games, so it immediately came to mind when the holiday season approached. I did my best to try to remember all of the procedures that had made the past few games so successful, and while it was difficult to pull together with the absence of Mrs. Dixon and a shrunken journalism class, Hannah and I truly pushed ourselves to do both the tradition and the much-loved board game justice. 

For the last few weeks leading up to the game day, I worked on Christmas Life nonstop, and I felt like a chicken running around with its head cut off nearly every study period at school. It was evident to anyone that saw me during this period that I was very stressed, but it was this stress that made me strive for success. 

As far as the performance and success of the Christmas edition of The Game of Life goes, I would say that I am proud of how game day turned out. Of course, there were a few minor hiccups, but that was to be expected. As I strolled the halls making sure that the games were playing out without a hitch, I caught glimpses of both students and staff laughing, smiling, and having a fantastic time. Witnessing the enjoyment as a result of an event that I planned alongside Hannah was extremely rewarding, and it definitely made all of the late nights, breakdowns, and stress cries worth it. 

After everything was all said and done and I had gone home to begin my Christmas vacation, I couldn’t help but feel both satisfaction and a sense of loss. Upon entering my house, the exhaustion of the day set in, and I fell fast asleep right on my chair. I recall waking up feeling slightly panicked because I felt the need to work on Christmas Life. While I endured a lot of stress during the planning process of Christmas Life, it was probably one of the most incredible experiences that I’ve ever had. I had so much fun joking around with Hannah while working on the game, getting to see so many different kinds of people working together because of me, and watching genuine joy materialize. 

Hopefully this will not be the last of the Christmas games. I really hope to see this continue for years past my graduation at Cranberry, and I’d like to think that this event can become even bigger and better. I truly believe that it’s an amazing experience for everyone involved, and I hope that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy a holiday-themed game as well. 

Also, I would just like to thank absolutely everyone who participated in this game in one manner or another. Even the seemingly small jobs really made the biggest difference in pulling this event together. While Hannah and I did most of the heavy lifting in terms of planning, it could not have been possible without each helping hand. I truly hope that the Christmas edition of The Game of Life was able to bring as much joy to other people’s hearts as it did to mine.