Many students don’t want to think about reading assignments over the holidays. The holidays are a time to relax and sleep. English teacher Mary Troxel disagrees with this notion, and used the door decorating contest to prove how reading and the holidays can mix.

Her door theme, the “12 Days of Literature,” uses different references from classic books to parody the timeless Christmas tune. Her 12 days include: Twelve angry jurors, Eleven guillotined aristocrats, Ten stranded murderers, Nine weapons hunting, Eight Norvid pills, Seven peaks to climb, Six fleeing slaves, Five golden teeth, Four mockingbirds, Three Italian men, Two lovers loving and One Piggy with glasses on an island.

She also encouraged her students to participate by making an extra credit assignment. Students who were most creative with their examples earned extra points.

“The 12 days of Christmas is my favorite Christmas song, and I love reading, so it made for a great activity for my students,” said Troxel.