No matter which holiday you celebrate, late December is always a special time of year. There is great food, family is around, gifts are being exchanged and the mistletoe has been hung.
Here at BCLions.com, we are catching up with some of the players and coaches from your BC Lions to find out their favourite things about the holidays. Recently we had the chance to talk with the Lions’ big-play pass-catcher, Bryan Burnham.
Bryan had another very productive season with the Orange and Black in 2017, leading the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. The University of Tulsa product caught 81 passes this season for 1,202 yards and seven scores through 16 contests. His 81 receptions and seven touchdowns both represent career highs for the 27-year-old.
Q: What do you look forward to most about the holidays?
A: “Definitely spending time with family. I don’t get to see my brother and sister as much as I would like and it’s hard to be so far away from my family during the season, so it will be really nice to spend some time with all of them.”
Q: What is your favourite Christmas movie?
A: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is my favourite Christmas movie. If you haven’t seen it, you need to watch it.”
Q: What is your favourite Christmas song?
A: “I love the Mariah Carey song, All I want for Christmas is you.”
Q: What is the best gift you have ever received?
A: “Probably, an autographed Donovan McNabb jersey when I was about 12. I grew up in New Jersey and the Philadelphia Eagles were always my favourite team. I loved watching McNabb play.”
Q: What is the best gift you have ever given?
A: “Well, last year I proposed to my fiancé right around Christmas. I was at her parents’ house and I popped the question right in front of the Christmas tree. I would say that is the best gift I have ever given someone.”
Q: Do you open your presents on Christmas morning or Christmas Eve?
A: “Christmas morning. People that open presents on Christmas Eve are cheating.”
Q: What kind of food do you eat for Christmas Dinner?
A: “We always have a honey ham and all the traditional sides that go with it. It’s always a special dinner but our family has always been really big on Christmas breakfast. I remember every year being a kid and waking up on Christmas morning. We would go downstairs to open presents and my mom would always make a big breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and hash browns.
Q: What is your role in helping prepare the dinner?
A: “I actually really enjoy being in the kitchen, so I try to always help my mom out. I mostly help with the dessert, baking pies and stuff like that.”
Q: Do you have a real Christmas tree or a fake one?
A: “For the longest time, we had a real tree. However, real ones are so much more difficult that fake trees so we eventually gave in and got a fake one.”
Q: Do you have a special Christmas ornament that you hang on the tree?
A: “All the kids in my family had their own personal ornament that hung on the tree and mine was a picture of me from when I was a baby. Every year I always looked forward to putting that one on the tree. Also, when I was a kid, my siblings and I would have a competition for who got to put the star on the top of the tree.”
On behalf of Bryan Burnham and the BC Lions, we would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Be sure to check back with us when we talk to Wally Buono about his Christmas traditions.