On a cold Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving break, Kathy Toner, administrative assistant for Campus Ministry, was playing Mrs. Claus while directing an army of student elves to help get Wolfington Hall ready for the holiday season.

This year’s decorating marked the 25th anniversary of this campus tradition. Toner has been there since the beginning, when Campus Ministry moved its offices into Wolfington Hall in 1994.

By the time they were finished, a 10 foot decorated tree occupied the main room, wreaths and garlands adorned the fireplaces, and stockings hung on the fireplace in the community room.

Dave Hummel ’20, who frequents Wolfington Hall during the day, said he loves participating in this tradition.

“I thought that decorating was just one of the things I could do to help out, try to get into the holiday spirit,” Hummel said as he was decorating the tree.

Javon Lee ’20, who helped finish the garland over the fireplace, is a fan of the cookies and cocoa station set up in the community room.

“The way this brings people together is special,” Lee said, who has been helping to decorate Wolfington Hall since his first year at St. Joe’s.

“We can all gather together outside of stress or school and studying and all that,” Lee said.

Molly Weber ’22 was in charge of documenting the decorating process on Instagram.

“It was really fun,” Weber said. “I know I always am looking on the Instagram story so hopefully people saw it and saw it was fun and more people came by.”

As with many seniors decorating one last time, Hummel was just happy to be there.

“There’s just something about the holidays that really gets people together and makes everything feel more festive,” Hummel said.

One of Toner’s favorite traditions is not in Wolfington itself, but next door in the Chapel of St. Joe’s.

Located in the back of the chapel near the entrance, The Giving Tree was decorated with ornaments bearing the names of organizations where students in weekly service programs helped out during the semester. St. Joe’s community members were encouraged to take an ornament and help spread the love throughout the holidays, Nancy Horowitz-Patton, administrative assistant for Campus Ministry, said.

“People are very generous throughout the year but particularly at Christmas, including our students,” Horowitz-Patton said.

Toner and Horowitz-Patton stood surveying the community room during the event. They were looking at the garland going up on the fireplace and making sure that the wreath was placed properly.

“There’s a lot of friendships, a lot of love, a lot of snacks, a lot of laughs and good music,” Horowitz-Patton said.