Christmas Coffeehouse brings back holiday nostalgia for students

Over 7,000 students were inspired to draw upon the childlike wonder of the holiday season at Liberty University’s Christmas Coffeehouse on Saturday.

The late-night event has been a Liberty tradition since the 1990s and is a showcase of Liberty’s top student talent featuring musicians, dancers, live games, and student-made videos.

With this year’s theme, “Under the Tree,” Student Activities Director Cort Comfort said the goal was to create an exciting atmosphere around all the nostalgic moments of Christmas.

“We were really trying to pay homage to the magical Christmas mornings when we were kids,” he said.

To transport students back to their childhood Christmases, the staff decorated the concourse with larger-than-life toy replicas, such as a 6-foot-tall Barbie Dream House and a huge Nintendo. Around the stage, there were gifts and presents like games, a rocking horse, and a huge teddy bear.

The show started at 11:30 p.m., giving students a chance to have fun with their friends — and take a break from studying — before final exams began this week. Students watched performances from student dance teams like Divine Call and D-TREX; student-made, Christmas-themed videos; and musical numbers by student performers including Solomon Rivers, Chapman Lee Peugh, Kachow the Band, Joseph’s Coat Band, and more.

Two members of the Student Activities staff, Ty Justice and Sophia White, were the emcees of the night. Between performances, the pair led on-stage games where select students had to guess the ending of obscure Christmas Hallmark movies and figure out what movies different Santa clips were from. They poked fun at popular pop culture events, memes, and Liberty inside jokes.

Comfort said the event is popular because of its student focus.

“The show is put on by current students; it’s so identifiable for the student body. It’s ‘for us, by us.’ Because of that, it always feels brand new. It’s reflective of their generation.”

Senior Stephanie Izzaguire, a graphic design student, said her favorite musical performance of the night was Chapman Lee Peugh, and her favorite dance performance was D-TREX.

“I absolutely love Coffeehouse; I look forward to it every year,” she said. “You can always tell they put a lot of effort into it.”

Comfort said the production team starts planning in July, with larger meetings and coordination happening throughout October and November. On the night of the show, 24 employees from the Campus Production Department and 30 from Student Activities ensured everything ran smoothly

“At the heart of this show are students who chose to go to Liberty for a very specific reason (its Christian foundation),” Comfort said. “As Christians, we have a special connection with Christmas because of Christ’s birth. Coming together for a Christmas show is special because we have a much deeper understanding of what this holiday is about.”

Coffeehouse remains one of the largest events hosted by Student Activities, with a show held each spring and fall. The spring New York City-themed Coffeehouse is scheduled for March 28 in the Vines Center, starting at 11:30 p.m.