As the weather gets colder, Best Buddies is gearing up to host its annual winter celebration with food and games on Thursday after school from at 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

“Everyone is invited and we’re gonna have food, snacks, movies, games, arts and crafts, hot chocolate and more to just make it a really fun little celebration before everyone goes off for the holidays,” Best Buddies sponsor Cynthia Kays said. “One of the new things we’ve decided this year is a scavenger hunt that you can play with your buddy as a bonding activity to get to know them better.”

For club treasurer sophomore Suhani Singh, the party gives another opportunity for club members to enjoy themselves outside of typical meeting locations. 

“I think it’s just a chill environment where everyone can hang out, aside from school, lunches, advisories, and club meetings,” Singh said. “It’s somewhere where you can have fun and meet and connect with different people.”

Social media manager senior Allie Elgin hopes the party will help foster growth and connections between club members and buddies. 

“It helps create those friendships because some of the buddies don’t go out that much outside of school,” Elgin said. “So by giving them this other opportunity with their other friends that they see in everyday classrooms, in addition to people that are nice, thoughtful, and doing something fun, it just really brings them joy I believe.”