By Nina and Waley Lin

We asked TPA students, faculty and staff: What was the best holiday gift you ever received?

Sophie Muniz, 6C: I got One Direction tickets to their concert. The concert was the best present that I ever received for Christmas. Also my other favorite band, “5 Seconds of Summer,” was their opening act.

Lily Mills, 6B: When I was 8, I went to Disneyland and met Mickey, Minnie, and Disney princesses. It was fun and awesome.

Hayden Sampson, 6B: The best Christmas present that I ever received as a Kindle Fire because I watch things. It helps me grow in the boss department. That’s why I’m a boss.

Spencer Bodow, 6B: My favorite holiday present was a gigantic sticker of me. My brother was the one who gave me that present. The sticker/picture is up in my room and now whenever I wake up I get to say hello to myself.

Ethan Moore, 6C: The best present that I have ever received is a two-day trip to a ranch. There are a lot of horses and you can ride them too. I learned to ride and how to lasso a bull. I had so much fun there. I can’t wait to go back again. Horses are my favorite animal.

Maria Brittain, 7B: The best present that I ever received was my Blue Pacific Bike. I can ride with my sister to places like the park.

Evan Hackett, 6C: The best holiday gift I ever received was my Wii. The one I previously owned was broken. It was given by my parents.

Caleb Bueno, 7C: The best present I have ever received was a baseball bat. I got it in 2012. It’s the greatest present because I love baseball and now I can play with a bat.

Blake Price, 7C: The greatest holiday gift that I ever received was a quad. It is given to me when I was seven years old. It was my favorite because it brought me into dirt bikes.

Gabby Urias, 9C: The greatest present that I have ever received was my puppy, Ginger. She is the light of my life. She lights up my world like nobody else. She brings magic to my soul. Even though she is fat, she is my little munchkin. Keep being special, Ginger.

Prakash Wiese, 8A: The greatest holiday present that I have ever received was getting a debit card that has $200. Getting money is the best. Free money is awesome!

Spencer Will, 8C: When I was seven, I received the Eiffel Tower Lego set that has 3,000 pieces to put together. It was fun to put the pieces together and the best part is finishing it.

Laxmi Wiese, 8C: The best holiday present that I have ever received was when I was very little. I got a Barbie bike that sang songs about having fun outside and also tell time.

Dayvion Sumpter, 8C: I got a Twinkie Maker in 2010. I was very happy to get it. My favorite flavor is watermelon. It’s my favorite because I can have any flavor Twinkies.

Joya Ma, 9A: The best holiday gift that I have ever received was my cat, Cookie. He brings me happiness in this world and I feel totally relaxed when I am always with him. He is the best present ever because I can tell him everything that no one else knows about.

Kathryn Smith, 9A: I got a guitar last year for Christmas. This is the best gift I ever received because I get to play music every day and write my own songs on it.

Chesca Lilly, 9A: I received a Portal Gun last year and it’s amazing because physics is now my slave.

Sophie Welter, 9C: I got a giant purple fuzzy blanket. It is the best present I have ever received because it is soft and big enough for three of me to fit in but I am not sharing it. I hate sharing.

Hoda Seyed, 10B & Sumayyah Seyed 6A: The best gift that we received was a goat named Cocoa. He was so fun to play with. We got him two years ago. He was a loon!

Gabe LeBeau, 11A: The greatest holiday gift was a basketball hoop that my siblings and I received when I was 6. I loved shooting hoops in my front yard and making slam dunks.

Sophie Kniaz, 11A: I got my Shiba Inu puppy for Christmas three years ago! It’s certainly been interesting!

Mary Goodykoontz, 11B: Two years ago, I got an Xbox360 and it was really cool because I wasn’t expecting one.

Maddy Butler, 11C: The best holiday present was going to Disneyland with my friends and family. I got to see the magic and spend great times with the people I love.

Sterling Hicks, 11C: The best gift was my sister, JK. She is my best birthday present because she was born on my birthday (July 1). So my favorite Christmas gift was a dirt bike 150CC.

Isaiah Brittain, 11A: The best present that I have ever received was a Mongoose Bicycle that I built with my uncle. I was the fastest human on the Earth. Jealous?

Zach Brittain, 12A: The best holiday presents that I have ever received was a picture of me playing football from my mom. Also getting a dog named Ajax because I love dogs. It was cute and furry.

Joel Simoneau, 12C: My favorite gift that I have ever received for Christmas was my guitar. Ever since I got that guitar I have been playing and writing music, and being able to express myself through music is one of the best gifts I think anyone can get.

Jesse Gibson (Graduated TPA): I graduated from TPA. The best present I have ever received for Christmas was a digital camera because I am interested in photography.

Teachers and Staff

Mr. Ditsworth: The greatest holiday present that I have ever received is the love and generosity of my students for which I am very terrifically humble.

Mr. Granville: Umm … ummm….. Nothing comes in my mind that is memorable.

Mr. Bernreuter: The best holiday present that I have ever received is the Evel Knievel Deluxe Dare Devil Cycle Stunt Set when I was little. That was the most memorable present that I ever received.

Mr. Veenstra: I have received many wonderful presents but one that is the most memorable was given by my mother-in-law. She gave me a nearly complete set of Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1907.

Mrs. Hicks: The best memorable present that I have ever received was a Hippity Hop when I was little. I was thrilled until it popped.

Dr. Baum: Two weeks after I graduated from high school, my community in Pennsylvania started to have a flood. Everywhere the streets, cars, houses were flooded, including my house. Everything was gone including the memories of my childhood. The worst part was all the family pictures were all gone. My family and I stayed at a hilltop school’s gym where many other families were too. We stayed there for four days until the flood drained away. The community started to rebuilt the place later. 22 years later on Christmas Day, there was a present from my dad mixed in with my other gifts. It was a VHS tape. (I know I’m old.) So I put the VHS tape in the VHS player and it started playing. Suddenly, I started to cry because it was a movie that showed all the lost childhood pictures of me. All these years I thought we lost all the photos. Apparently, my dad found the pictures up the attic while moving out of the house and selling the house. The attic didn’t get flooded. My childhood memory is restored.

Mr. Atkinson: In 2001, my wife gave me a set of power tools which I am still using to this day. It my best holiday present because it’s a long lasting gift.

Mr. Keating: When I was little, my father informed me that we are going to Africa hunting in the summer. It was fun and we hunted down many animals such as cheetahs, warthogs, buffaloes, etc.

Mr. Sanderson: I grew up outside of New York City and my mom gave me tickets to see Broadway shows. But the greatest gift I ever received was a huge Smart TV with a speaker-system from my parents. I wasn’t able to purchase one back in the days. My dad is generous at Christmas. A lot of things at home were purchased by my parents.

Dr. Evans: A bike I got when I was in 5th grade. It was fun and gives us freedom and mobility.

Dr. Wolfe: On Dec 6, 2014, my daughter got engaged to be married. I am very happy for my daughter and her husband-to-be. He proposed to her at San Diego, Calif.