First, I think it is necessary to tell you that I am not a big fan of Carnival. And I don't like wearing costumes very much. But when I am with my friends all is better. I don't mind dressing up together, it is very fun, and sometimes embarrassing. It's fun because we choose who wears the worst costume. But people always ask who the winner is. Well, we don't have an award yet, only a lot of jokes about his or her costume. When I was child I always wore a costume and I went to my grandparents' house. Now I don't go, I stay at home, calm and happy. I want to talk about how I see Carnival in my city. All young people wear their costume, but the teenagers go to parties. When I was younger I always awaited an incredible Carnival, I waited for something special. But now I understand that Carnival, although I am not a big fan, is not special. The thing that is special, is all people losing all types of shyness, and having a good time, and enjoying a lot of things. So please, enjoy it with the people of your city, because you are one of them, you represent the parts of your city all together. In conclusion, Carnival is very fun when I spend it with my friends, and I also like it because I can rest after a lot of exams and homework. I can enjoy time with my family, play video games, meet my fiends, etc. It isn't my favorite holiday, because I can do all the things that I do during Carnival in the summer holidays. But it isn't the worst. I think that there aren't any bad holidays, only some holidays that are longer and which we say are better. But we like all holidays.

Hi, my name is Monica and I'm going to tell you about my Carnival. I usually wear costumes made by myself and other times I buy them. Carnival is a fun party because if you are dressed up you can have a great time looking at other people's costumes, taking photos, participating in costume contests…… In other cities Carnival is big, for example: Venice, Brazil, the Canary Islands… Normally, during Carnival in those cities what they do is hold a parade with all the costumes, and people go out dressed up because it's the only time you are allowed to be crazy, and it's fun. In some schools Carnival is also celebrated. The classes are dressed up according a theme, and they have fun and hold a parade. The children dance, laugh… During Carnival, when you go out onto the street and you see all the colorful costumes and people wearing masks, dressed up, it looks like they put on everything. During Carnival, many people from different places come to experience different customs from other countries, too. People enjoy it because they can bring their kids, and they dress up as their favorite characters. Since we are in the Carnival season you have to enjoy it and have a great time.

Hello! My name is Carlota and this Carnival I am wearing a costume that represent all the garbage on the planet. To make the costume you only need a yellow shirt and blue jeans. You have to put a little bit of decoration on. You need some bottle caps and a plastic bag. Using scotch tape, you have to stick it all on to make the costume, and you have to take more decoration, like glasses or a hat. Last carnival I wore a costume which represented an animated character called Walli, or if you are a girl you are Wanda. This costume is made of cloth and the colours are red and white. You need a red and white sweater and red and white tights. I like to dress up in a lot of costumes during carnival because you can see something on TV, and then you want to be that person, because they are very happy. And if you want to be that person, you can buy a costume of that person, and you can feel that you are that person now.

Hello! My name is Meagan, I’m ten years old. I live in Madrid (Spain). Today I wanted to participate in writing on the Magazine and I’m going to talk about "What are my favourite activities to do in winter". I have a lot of activities to do in winter. In winter, we celebrate Christmas, too… My favourite activities are: playing with my friends, ice skating, playing in the snow. When I was three years old I was with my whole family in a place with a bunch of snow. I played with my cousins there, who were 10 years old and we were playing with the snow and my grandmother was helping me to slide on the snow. My cousins held me so I wouldn’t fall and I was very happy in that moment when I was little... More activities that I do in winter: when school finished we had homework for the holidays so I sometimes call my friend over to help me and I helped her, too. She was a bit smart and also so funny. After we finished the homework we met at the school, because there's an ice skating rink. We went like four times there to skate. The first time I went, I was very nervous because that day I really didn't know how to skate, because it was my first time. The third time I didn't fall because I knew how to skate so that time was very cool... More things that I do in winter: play with my friends. We sometimes videocall each other. We talk about films. My favourite film is "Harry Potter" and I’m in the house of "Gryffindor". I would like to get some books to read Harry Potter. My other friend’s favourite films are "Stranger Things". She has a lot of drawings of those. Her favourite character is "Eleven" and more. She has, in total, four characters who she likes... My last winter activity is: staying at home. It's because outside it is very, very cold and so I sleep or watch movies... That was my writing for today! BYE BYE!!!

Hello, I'm Naroa and I live in Arganda del Rey (Madrid). I am going to tell you what my favourite activities to do in winter are. I don't really have any favourite activities for winter because I prefer summer and I think it is a normal season, but the difference is that it rains and it’s cold. In winter, I love going to the snow and going to ski although I only went once to each, but the times I went to the snow and to ski I had a lot of fun. In winter, I also love going to visit villages around Madrid or the city of Madrid to see the Christmas decorations. Every year, I go with my mom and my sister to Madrid to see the lights, to visit some shops or to buy something. We eat there, we eat some churros and some hot chocolate for the afternoon snack and we usually see Cortilandia.This is like a tradition for me and my family. I don't have more favourite activities, but there’s something that I also like a lot but it isn’t so much an activity. It’s to stay at home watching a film on the sofa with some popcorn.

Hi. I am Jacobo. My favourite activity to do in winter is play board games with my family. For example, Monopoly it is my favourite game. It goes like this: 2-6 players per board roll a dice and you land in, for example, the street and you decide to buy or not buy. If you buy, the player who lands in this box next pays you money. The money which is put on the card is very funny. We play cards, too. We play lots of games, for example The Liar. It is for 2-4 players, a person gives out 7 cards for each person and says who begins. The youngest begins and a person begins and says “3” and the other players throw the card out of their hand of cards into a pile. All at the same time. If not, one by one. You depend on the numbers you have. You can throw a card in the pile if you do not have, for example in this case, a three. You can lie. But if you get caught you take all of the pile and so on and on and on. The person who runs out of cards wins.

New Year's Eve is one of my favourite holidays of the year, like Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. But the New Year's celebration is special because the year changes, and you can start over again (if you do something bad), and you can set new goals for yourself, like the following: don't punch your little brother; get good marks; respect your friends; etc. The best part for me about New Year's Eve is the presents, not the grapes (last year I had to go to the hospital because I choked on the grapes). The New Year's toasts are cool, but I can't drink alcohol, so I drink some kind of fruit champagne, but it's so acidic. The champagne is from apples, pears, pineapples, and oranges. When my family and I give a toast, we do it in a loud voice, and we talk about our New Year's resolutions.

Hello! My name is Nayra and I've got 10 New Year's resolutions for 2020. My first resolution is to get an award for excellent work in math because I'm good at that subject. My second resolution is to avoid arguing with my brother. He's older than I am and we argue a lot. My third resolution is to go to flamenco classes, because it's my favorite music to dance to. My fourth resolution is to take piano lessons. I play the guitar but I want to learn another instrument. My fifth resolution is to save money to go to the United States, because I like that country a lot, and I can learn more English there. I love traveling to other countries in general. My sixth resolution is to tidy up my room more often because it's always very messy. My seventh resolution is to take drama classes because I want to perform in The Lion King. My eighth resolution is to remember to turn off the lights after I brush my teeth. My ninth resolution is to not talk in class because I talk a lot with my classmates. My tenth resolution is to learn to make straight lines in math class. In the first grade of secondary school, we have to make a lot of straight lines but I don't know how.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions? Is there something new you want to start doing in 2020? The New Year is coming and with the holiday season nearly here, many people are thinking of resolutions that will help them to be better people. There can be different types of resolutions. One example is to give more money to charity. Other examples are playing sports, reading or getting better grades. I'm going to do things that will help me and that are difficult for me to do. I'm going to give money to charity and study for at least one hour a day. I'm going to try to do my best. You should probably do the same, because it can be helpful for you and for a lot of other people. You will have lots of fun doing it. You can also combine your New Year's resolutions with your friends and family so you can help each other do it together. I do that every year and it helps me a lot more than you think. For example, last year I barely read and spent too much time watching TV, using my mobile phone, or playing video games. Now I read a lot more because I learned that it is much more interesting than playing any type of video game. What are your New Year's resolutions?