This past Saturday, Westminster had their annual Winter Ball, aka Christmas Banquet. The banquet was run by Westminster parents, and it was planned for students to have fun with their friends before the stress that comes with preparing for finals.

Like Homecoming, CB (Christmas Banquet) was a dance that was open for only the high schoolers to go to, it had a DJ, it had flashing lights, and it had different appetizers to munch on. However, CB had four things that made it unique compared to the Homecoming dance.

The first thing that was different was the location. The Homecoming dance was hosted at a catering venue in Maryland Heights while CB was hosted at the Marriott West hotel across the highway from Westminster. This made it easier for students and parents that were driving since they knew of the general location.

The second thing that was different was the color scheme. Most people at homecoming wore brighter colors due to the fact that the dance was closer to the end of summer/beginning of fall. However, since this dance followed a Christmas theme, most students wore outfits that had Christmas colors. These colors were a variety of blues, blacks, reds, and greens. There were also some people sporting more sparkly outfits, Christmas suits, and even ugly Christmas sweaters!

The third thing that was different was some of the song choices. Since Christmas is around the corner, the DJ thought that it would be fun to put on some Christmas music, “All I want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey was one of these festive song choices. Once this song started playing, students rushed to the dance floor to sing their hearts out.

Sophomore Ella Porter was one of the people who hopped on the dance floor when these fun Christmas tunes were playing. She said, “The music was great!”

The fourth and final thing that was different was the extra room that was provided. In this room, students could hang up their coats so that they wouldn’t need to hang onto them. Also, there were tables that were set up in this room for students who wanted to take a break from the loudness that was coming from the main room which housed the dance floor.

As an added bonus, outside of the venue in the hallway, there was a little photobooth area where students could get their picture taken. The backdrop was a pretty white board with white balloons hanging from the ceiling.

The combination of the venue, theme, and music, led to a great time of bonding with friends and celebrating the Christmas season. “I had so much fun at the dance! I really enjoyed being with my friends,” said Porter. 

Overall, the students enjoyed the dance and had fun. Many even said that it was better than the Homecoming dance back in the fall. Dayton Hays, senior, spoke about how much fun she also had at the dance: “I really enjoyed the time I got to celebrate with my friends. Spending time with them makes me so happy, and I was glad we all got to dress up and got out together.”