The Facebook invites were sent out nearly a month in advance.
The Christmas sweaters were bought and outfits were planned.
Notre Dame students were ready to flock to the dorm, the myth, the legend: Carroll Hall, for the annual A Carroll Christmas. There was so much hype leading up to this single party, with upperclassmen telling lower classmen that it was something they all had to experience. My friends and I were very excited to experience this for the first time and even those who usually stay in on the weekends ventured out for this pivotal moment in their Notre Dame student life. I’ll admit that I really did not know what to expect, but went intending to have an amazing time.
When we arrived it was crowded. Not regular body-to-body dorm party crowded, but lines that wrapped all the way up the staircases, through the halls, and into the rooms crowded. It seemed as though almost everyone I knew was there, from freshmen to seniors. My friends and I set up a buddy system to ensure that we left with everyone we came, with and that no one would get lost in the crowd. Unfortunately our Notre Dame education did not help us in realizing that we had an odd number of people, so my friend without a buddy got lost for some time.
Unfortunately like so many dorms on campus, Carroll is not air conditioned. This combined with the body heat of roughly 1000 Domers (from those who said they were going on Facebook) in Christmas sweaters made for a rather uncomfortable party temperature.
The music was perfect for the season, with upbeat Christmas carols echoing from every room. Each participating dorm room was full of Domers singing in dancing to the festive tunes. I heard “All I want for Christmas is You” at least thirty times that night and am happy to say that I never got tired of it. They men of Carroll were prepared for the crowed and served, Christmas cookies, cider, peppermint flavored everything, and hot chocolate throughout the night. I’ll admit at several sugar cookies and they did not disappoint.
Just like the Holiday Season A Carroll Christmas was brought to an end far too soon by a guy in a suit. Unfortunately this guy was not Santa, but several Police officers who arrived to shut down the event. Everyone was abruptly forced to exit the building and seek their Christmas fun elsewhere.
I like many others I spoke to feel this about Carroll Christmas, It was a lot of fun, but it did not live up to the hype. Carroll Christmas was made out to be an amazing event that we would never forget, but it actually seemed just like a large-scale version of every other dorm Christmas party on campus. I assume that some of the appeal and magic lies in journeying to the far off land of Carroll in order to experience this party, although afterward many of us were left wondering if the whole thing was worth the walk.
All in all a Carroll Christmas was fun, crowded, and one of those uniquely Notre Dame Events that I will probably continue to attend, while I am here.
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