Dec 21, 2022

William Means Agents’ Favorite Holiday Traditions

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As the year comes to a close, we are thankful to spend quality time with our friends and family while creating everlasting memories. Holiday traditions, old and new, are an important component of what makes this season so special. William Means agents share their favorite traditions of the holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

“My favorite holiday tradition is laying out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer the night before Christmas with my hyper and wonderstruck young girls.”

Lyles Geer

“I love the anticipation of Christmas Eve. We go to an afternoon church service and have lasagna for dinner. It’s such a festive night with champagne and everyone preparing for Santa’s visit. It’s wonderful to see my son now doing the things we did with his children!”

Paula Yorke

“My father would hand out wrapped presents one at a time and with seven children. We all loved it because Christmas seemed to last all day! I have kept the tradition alive with my family and hope it will continue in generations to come.”

Etta Connolly

“Every other year we go to Maine for the holidays to visit my in-laws. We always bake lots of Christmas cookies and drive to the botanical gardens for a Christmas light show. If it isn’t too cold, we will do a lobster bake and oyster roast in the backyard.”

Kaelin Hall

“Our tradition involves baking fudge for the neighborhood, caroling, possibly excessive home exterior lumination, watching The Grinch and reading aloud “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” before we go to bed.”

– Kenton Selvey

“I love picking out our Christmas tree every year with my wife Steph and our pup Maddie. We also love attending all of the holiday events around Charleston and spending time with family.”

Brian Walsh

“In recent years, a favorite tradition has become going to the James Island Festival of Lights with family and friends. There’s no better way to get you in the Christmas spirit!”

– Harrison Gilchrist

“On Christmas morning, we like to make a big breakfast before diving into gifts! For Hanukkah, we will make latkes and matzah ball soup with challah bread for dinner!”

– Katie Wishneff

“My husband and I eagerly wait for our four children to come into town and then we go to church together on Christmas Eve. Afterwards we gather at our house with extended family and close friends and celebrate together with food, spirits and Christmas music until after midnight so we can welcome Christmas Day together.”

– Martha Freshley

“One of my favorite Christmas traditions is celebrating Christmas Eve with my family at 54 Meeting Street, the home I grew up in. It’s the time spent with loved ones that makes this such a special time of the year.”

– Helen Butler

“We enjoy the typical Christmas traditions – new pajamas for everyone on Christmas Eve and then we watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”. On Christmas morning we have fresh croissants and open presents. But, maybe different from many is that on Christmas Eve we do the Feast of the Seven Fishes. My husband’s mom was Italian and we adopted this tradition for ourselves many years ago.”

– Michelle McQuillan

“One of our favorite family traditions is to visit Nights Of A Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens the weekend after my daughters finish school. We load everyone up in the car and listen to Christmas music the whole way there. We eat dinner in Pawley’s Island and then explore the grounds and take lots of fun photos. We finish the night listening to the band play while sipping hot chocolate. It’s just the right way for our family to get in the Christmas spirit!”

– Farrah Follmann

“My girlfriends and I have had a white elephant gift exchange since we were in the sixth grade at Porter Gaud in 1998. The only one I missed was the year I was living abroad in Paris. We are going on our 24th year this Christmas!”

– Beverly Burris

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