Because a large majority of the Association of Volleyball Professionals reside in California (or similar mild climate areas), snow and chill are not factors in most holiday celebrations involving AVP athletes and their loved ones.

Therefore, the holiday lyrics “chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” may be more appropriate if replaced with “bon fires on a sandy beach, sunscreen spread on your nose.”

Regardless of the locality, everyone spends time during this season in their own special way and the AVP thought it could bring cheer to its followers by sharing some thoughts from its competitors on their holiday pleasures.

The AVP offers a gift to all of its supporters during this festive time. Through this holiday season, the responses from players of the AVP about their responses to the following questions are shared:

Season’s greetings from the AVP and stay tuned for 2003.

Angie Akers
I will be spending the holidays here in Long Beach (Calif.). My family is in Indiana. I just got back from visiting there. That was my holiday trip back home. Jeremy's (husband) dad is coming here for Christmas.

My number one gift on my holiday wish list is a puppy Rottweiler, but that is definitely a wish. Not going to happen. 

I don't really have a favorite holiday memory. I have a big family, so every holiday is fun and eventful. There is never a dull moment. Honestly, there is not one single thing that really pops into my head.

Lisa Arce
I will be spending the Holidays at home in Redondo Beach (Calif.) with my husband (Andrew Zimmerman), family and friends.  

I don't really have a wish list. 

My most favorite holiday memory is from when I was a kid. My extended family on my mom's side gets together on Christmas Eve and waits for Santa to come at midnight. We eat, visit and try to stay awake long enough to get a present from Santa, himself. I remember the anticipation and love how I felt for that night.

Danalee Bragado
I will be spending the holidays with my parents and my two sisters in Vancouver (Wash.) this year.

To be honest, Target gift certificates. I can spend hours roaming around that store — it’s truly ridiculous.

When I was a kid, I remember leaving carrots and cookies for Santa and his reindeers. The next morning, when they were gone, I was totally convinced that Santa came and ate them. Then, because I was the youngest, I got to pass out the gifts to all my family members. There are five kids in our family so there were so many presents. I really miss those days.

Carrie Busch
I am not sure where I will be for the holidays this year.

My favorite holiday gift for this year would be having my sister (Nikki) and her fiancé come here (California) for Christmas.

My favorite holiday memory is waking up not on Christmas Day and having my sister play a trick on me. She lied and said it was Christmas and that I should run downstairs and start opening all the presents. I believed her of course since I was little and she was my big sister. So my parents saw me doing this and yelled at me to stop, saying it wasn’t Christmas yet. Never will forget that one.

Canyon Ceman
Hoping to get a break from business school and Los Angeles and go overseas to Prague, Geneva, Vienna or Honduras.

If I could get anything I would like a plasma screen television.

My favorite holiday memory is all of the Christmas Eve parties held at my parents’ home in Hermosa Beach (Calif.) with many friends and members of the family in attendance.

Annett Davis
We'll be at my mom's in Carson (Calif.).

I don't have a holiday wish list. I have more than I need already. No more room in my house for anything else.
 
Last year around Christmas time, my husband and I went to Maui (Hawaii) with my son Mya. He was only six months old. We were at a hotel that had a huge Christmas tree. Mya was sleeping in his car seat, so I put him under the huge tree as if he were a present (because he was God's gift to us). It was a special moment and a cute picture.

I love giving gifts but don't care that much about getting them. I wish for continued health and good times with our family.

This year will be some great memories because Avalon, at two years old, is just figuring out Santa and Christmas. She loves to sing and open presents, so it will be lots of fun. I have a lot of great memories, but one more recent one was when I was pregnant with Avalon and Joel and I went to Michigan for Christmas. Everyone in my family was rubbing my belly and wanting to feel her move and, watching the San Diego boy, Joel, shovel snow for the first time in his life.

The No. 1 gift on my holiday list would have to be another seven tournaments for next year and a healthy partner.

One of my favorite memories is Christmas morning. There was always a running deal with my sister. Whoever woke up first was to wake the other and then we would go down together and open presents. Everyone else was asleep and it was just us, our imagination and a whole mess of presents.

Katy Eldridge
This holiday, I'm spending with my husband's (Joe Ripp) family here in San Jose (Calif.). They now live in Washington State and they are coming down. We then are renting a house in Moro Bay (Calif.) for one week.

Gifts this year, well, we are fixing up our house quite a bit and we just purchased a hot tub. So, that will be our big gift to one another.  I don't really need anything that I can think of right now. Of course, clothes are always nice. And jewelry too.

Last year, my husband and I spent Christmas up in Washington with my parents. It snowed and it was like a real Christmas. That is one memory I will cherish. 

Eric Fonoimoana
At home (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)
 
Love and health to my family and friends

As a child, when my family and I woke to open Christmas gifts — I was so excited to see what Santa brought to my family and I.

Barbra Fontana
I will be in Manhattan Beach for the holidays, staying close to home sharing the time with my family. All of my siblings make it down between Christmas and New Years so it is great fun to be here.

How about a healthy off-season, that sounds good.

Last Christmas and New Years was a great time because my new family (in laws) were in town for the whole time and joined my family in all of our traditions, activities and meals which was really special.

That our kids are happy

Over the last couple of years, seeing the kids faces light up when Santa has brought them the gifts they asked for.

Albert Hannemann
I will be in Oahu (Hawaii) visiting family and then Kauai (Hawaii) for 10 days with my family.

Watching my daughter open up her presents.

Giving presents, eating great food and watching a lot of football.

Dax Holdren
Costa Rica

DVD's for that long European trip we have.

Last year when it was just Jen (wife), Kobe (son), Ellis (son) and myself. It was really quiet but nice.

Casey Jennings
Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, Christmas in Saratoga (Calif.) and
New Years in Lake Tahoe.

A digital video camera

Christmas in Lake Tahoe

Jennifer Johnson Jordan
I plan on spending the holidays at home with my family. There is no other place I would rather be.

On my wish list would be lessons to try something I have never done before (within reason) — anything from skydiving to knitting. I would want the giver to be creative.

My favorite holiday memory would be last Christmas with my daughter Jaylen who was only two months old at the time. Being that it was our first Christmas with her it was very special. Growing up my favorite Christmas memory would be Christmas morning opening presents with my mom, dad and brother in front of our Christmas tree. After we were done we would make a quick video for that particular year. Since my dad saves all his video we have almost 30 years worth of special memories on tape.

Kelly Slater's surf video game by XBox

Two years ago, my sister, Debbie, flew in from Argentina where she had been working for a year and we cooked teriyaki chicken for Christmas dinner. We had to go to about six different grocery stores to find all the right ingredients, but we pulled it off. Otherwise, back in Hawaii about 10 years ago, on Christmas day there was a surprise south swell, and I remember going surfing on a beautiful, sunny, Hawaiian day and having a blast. That was the best Christmas present ever.

Lee LeGrande
Hopefully, on a remote Hawaiian outer island with a fishing pole in one hand and a Bud Light in the other.

Love and happiness

Nancy Mason
I haven't finalized my plans for the Holidays yet. I will definitely get home to Belleville (Ill.) for a few days to see my family. I spent a few days with my boyfriend's family in Park City (Utah) last year. I'm not sure if we're going to get there again but it sure is beautiful over Christmas. The little town lights up like something out of a movie. The feeling of the holiday cheer makes up for it being so cold.

I don't really have a gift list this year. I can never think of anything
I really need or want. But if I had to say, I guess I'd ask for a spa package...you never have too much pampering.

My favorite holiday memories are of being with my family. I am away all year and don't realize how much I miss everyone until I'm home and we are all sitting around opening gifts. A person opens and that person has to sit in the "special chair" and wear the Santa hat. It's always good for a few laughs.

Holly McPeak
I spend the holidays at home (Manahattan Beach, Calif.) with my family but after Christmas, my husband, the kids and I are going to Whistler in Canada for six days of snowboarding and fun in the snow. I am very excited.

As far as a gift list, I don't really want anything in particular but I would like to find a few sponsors that could help support my partner and I as we try to qualify for the Olympics in Athens (Greece). That would be a great gift.

Christmas is my favorite holiday and all of them are special. I love the whole feeling of the holidays and spending time with the people I love.

Jeff Nygaard
As always for me, it's not Christmas without some white on the ground. Being as such, I will and most likely forever will, go back to the frozen tundra of the homeland and spend the holidays with my parents and family in Madison (Wis.).

Hopefully, Santa will stop on by and drop off a few nice things. But the one thing I really am looking for and hope I was good enough this year to get, is a nice pair of hiking shoes so I can really get after it when I go up into the hills. Either that, or some new tires for my truck. Either or is quite a good prospect.

As for my favorite holiday memory...sorry, that one is just for me.

I can't think of anything that I want this Christmas. I'm really happy with what I have now. 

As far as my favorite holiday memory...I would have to say any Christmas my family spent at my grandma's farm when she was still alive. My aunts and uncles would come too and it felt like the perfect place to spend Christmas. Growing up I loved eating all the great food my grandma cooked (with my help), seeing my brother leave cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer and exchanging gifts in her house that was kept warm by her wood burning stove.

Todd Rogers
I will spend the holidays with my family — Melissa (wife), Hannah (daughter) and Nate (son) at my house. Some relatives will probably come on over.

My No. 1 gift this year is being able to spend time with my family.  As far as the actual present someone gives me, my parents are giving us a ride on mower and my wife and I will cherish it as we have a lot of lawn to mow. The first time I mowed it, it took me three hours.  Granted it had not been mowed in awhile but still, that's ridiculous. And I will not hire a gardener. Ridiculous, but that's how I feel.

Some of my favorite holiday moments were with my brother Dean.  One Christmas at dawn we went golfing at Valley Club, an exclusive club in Montecito (Calif.). One year we went surfing at Devreaux Point (in Southern California) and had six-eight foot face waves all to our selves for about two hours. I cherish watching my kids open their presents and actually appreciating them as well as watching others open stuff they really wanted and didn't expect to get. Those memories are what make the holidays for me.

A new truck

Don’t really have one memory, as every holiday has been good so it’s hard to pick just one.

Sean Scott
I will spend the holidays this year with my family in Hawaii on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii. 

My number one gift on my holiday wish list is to have a safe and
happy holiday season with my friends and family when I'm home.

I don't really have a favorite holiday memory but I'm looking forward to the food, fireworks and just hanging out around the house with my family.

The No. 1 gift that I’m hoping for is a Q-Ray bracelet to take away all the aches and pains in this 40-year-old body.

Favorite holiday memory is from last year watching my two-year-old daughter, Jaden, open her presents — doesn’t get any better than that.

Elaine Youngs
El Toro (Calif.) with my family for a few days and then the rest in Durango (Colo.).

I’m more into giving than receiving so therefore only wish for good health.