Here at Aten, we’re reflecting on a great (yet still kind of weird) year and looking forward to working together to elevate your stories in 2022 and beyond.
Each of the Atenauts shared their favorite holiday tradition — everything from cookie bake-a-thons and decorated bikes to “Dreidel Madness” parties.
We hope you feel inspired and wish you a restful and merry holiday season. See you in the new year!
Alan Sherry
Back-end Developer
I currently live abroad and don't get into the holiday spirit much. But I do love sweet potato casserole. WITHOUT marshmallows.
Brent Robbins
Front-end Developer
The best part of the holidays is spending time with my family, playing in the snow with our girls and watching The Grinch and The Nightmare Before Christmas 🎄🎅🏻
Devin Kendall
Front-end Developer
Most recently I have appreciated the holidays as meaningful milestones to mark the passage of time and give reasons to reflect on the past and future.
Edmund Dunn
Full-Stack Developer
My two kids and dog, Ruby, pose for a Christmas card photo each year.
Eric Toupin
Senior Developer
I enjoy taking some time off to visit with friends and plan for the year ahead.
James Nettik
Senior Developer Manager
On Christmas Eve, my entire extended family stays up all night playing cards - spades, poker, or a game called Hand & Foot.
Janice Camacho
Senior Project Manager
During an annual 2-day bake-a-thon, I make 200 eggnog snickerdoodle and red velvet cookies to hand out with all of our holiday gifts.
Jenna Van Oort
Marketing Manager
Every December, I make a point to go downtown to Denver Union Station for a cocktail. It always puts me in the holiday spirit!
Jennifer Dust
Full-Stack Developer
We traditionally make a Swedish spiced wine, Glögg. My father and grandparents judge to see who makes the best batch.
Joe Crespo
Director of Accounts
As a blended family, we celebrate Chanukah/Christmas. We eat traditional Jewish food (brisket & latkes) and we play Christmas Trivia. I'm the only non-Jewish family member who has ever won.
Joel Steidl
Director of Engineering
We found this dragon in our alley, so naturally we put it on skis to make a sled out of it for our kids when it really snows.
John Ferris
Director of Front-end Engineering
My parents bought this janky Christmas tree in 1974. It's older than me! Mom has tried to buy a new one for many years but the kids won't let her. It's tradition!
Jon Bowman
Full-Stack Developer
As any good parents would do, we dress our kids up in matching pajamas each Christmas.
Jordan Graham
Full-Stack Developer
"Dreidel Madness" - a party in which we stand around the table and collectively see how many dreidels we can spin at the same time. Chaos and delight ensues.
Justin Toupin
CEO
One tradition we’ve adopted recently is cutting down the family Christmas tree in the wild. This usually involves adventure (off-roading, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing) and always involves a little drama (siblings in the woods with axes).
Kathryn Sutton
Senior UX/UI Designer
Instead of decorating a Christmas tree, I decorate my bike!
Ken Woodworth
VP of Design, Partner
Each winter solstice we read the book, Sun Bread and make our own. Once the bread is done we eat and then take pieces outside and throw them at the sky shouting, "Come back sun!" It's worked every year so far!
Kristi Schuster
Director of Operations & HR
My grandpa used to make his take on Grasshoppers for our family: Blended vanilla bean ice cream, crème de menthe, and crème de cocoa, served in your cutest holiday glassware.
Matthew Luzitano
Senior Developer Manager
We take a family Christmas card photo every year. As you can see here, my son Linus doesn't always feel the holiday cheer.
Michaela Blackham
Accessibility & QA Specialist
My husband and I have gotten each other a relevant tree ornament every year for the past 7 years. The "Merry Ludacrismas" ornament is still my favorite after all these years. (Our dog's name is Luda)
Philip Stier
Full-Stack Developer
My old man wakes up early and makes the family scotch eggs for breakfast on Christmas - a tradition my wife and I continue when we're away from my family.
Sally Shaughnessy
VP of Client Services
My grandmother had a wonderful tradition of making hundreds of cookies and mailing boxes of them to her loved ones. Mexican wedding cookies were the absolute favorite.
Tim Erickson
Business Development Specialist
Our family goes to a local tree farm to pick out the perfect tree, then everyone gets a new ornament
Travis Tomka
Back-end Developer
During the holidays, I love being with family and friends and creating new memories.
Trevor Calabro
Senior UX Strategist
Baking Christmas cookies is a family affair!
