Excitement is building at elementary schools around the tri-town as Christmas, and Christmas vacation, nears.

Students at Rochester Memorial School are excited for the break from school, and the opportunity to spend time with their families for some of their favorite holiday traditions.

“On Christmas Eve my family comes over, we watch TV and then we play Monopoly,” RMS fifth-grader Isabella Marotta said. “It always turns into a huge fight over who cheated, but then we eat dessert. My favorite is the brownies that somebody brings.”

Fifth grade student Olivia DeSousa said her family argues during the holidays too.

“We all fight over the last piece of cookie cake,” she said.

Dylan Durgin said he’s always the first one up on Christmas, and it’s up to him to wake up the rest of the family.

“My mom and dad always ask me to give them a few more minutes,” he said. “Then we exchange presents to open.”

Waking up first seemed to be a trend in Beth Hemenway’s fifth grade class.

“Since I’m the first one awake, I look at the presents under the tree,” Emma Gregory said. “Then I wake up my brother and sister and we look at all the presents together and then wake up my parents.”

Christmas lists this year ranged from electronics to animals.

“I always ask for a pig for Christmas, but I don’t think I’ll get one,” DeSousa said.

Fourth grade student Quinn Thompson said he really likes tractors, and was hoping he would get a farming simulator under the tree this year.

“It’s really fun,” he said. “I also want tools so I can help my dad fix stuff.”

Tessa Winslow, another fourth grader, wanted a variety of things to explore her hobbies.

“I asked for a hoverboard, a laptop, a sewing machine and fabric,” she said.

Fourth grader Zach Steed said he already has a pretty good idea of what he’s getting for Christmas due to a technological mistake from mom.

“My mom signed up for Amazon on my account, so now I know what I’m getting,” he said. “I’m excited for [video game] Madden 17.”

Center School kindergartner Elena Villafranca may not know what she’s getting, but she knows exactly what she wants out of the holiday season.

“I’m hoping to send cheer to my family and friends, and I hope my nana’s ribs feel better because she hurt them,” she said. “Oh, and I also want 102 Monster High dolls.”

Isabella Perez-Dormitzer, a first grader at Center School, celebrates Hanukkah and is excited to see what presents she will get.

“I want a balance beam,” she said.

Another Center School first grader is spending his Christmas in Arizona visiting family, and he has high hopes for who he’ll see while on the flight there.

“I bet I’ll see Santa in the sky,” Levi Mello said.

Hatchimals, Cozmo the robot and American Girl Doll items were also popular among Center School students. And after a year that saw the resurgence of Pokémon, it’s no wonder that some students were hoping for memorabilia.

“I want Pokémon cards,” Mit Patee said. “Mewtwo is my favorite.”

Patee’s classmate wasn’t as interested in fictional creatures, but there was a real one that she was hoping to get.

“I’m excited to get 3D pens from the commercials on TV, and a kitten that’s really small,” Hadley Perron said.