FRIDAY WAS the last day of school before the winter vacation. Children looked forward to presents, holiday trips and two weeks of fun.

At Crofton Woods Elementary School, many children wore Santa hats and reindeer antlers. Red was a popular color for sweaters and dresses. Teachers' desks were piled with presents.

First-grade teacher Tracy Gload struggled to put a large houseplant into her van. The plant was a gift from her secret Santa, one of the other teachers. She thought it would be a perfect decoration in her home, but she still needed room in the van for other presents, paperwork and her two children.

Rebecca Smith was also loading her vehicle, but Smith's package was a harp. Each week, she volunteers in the fourth-grade Foreign Language Experience (FLEX) program, introducing the children to German language and culture.

Besides being the mother of Neal, a fourth-grader at the school, Smith is a professional harpist who has performed with area groups. In honor of Christmas, she brought her harp to the FLEX class and played German carols.

Colored paper chains and holiday pictures lined the hallways and excited chatter filled the classrooms all day. But the crowning glory of the day was the piM-qata party, a tradition for Crofton Woods first-graders.

For weeks, the children had been learning about holiday traditions throughout the world, from Hanukkah menorahs to Santa Lucia candles to St. Nicholas shoes filled with treats. Each year, on the last school day before winter vacation, all the first-graders gathered in the Media Center to try their skill at another tradition, the Mexican piM-qata.

Four papier-mache piM-qatas hung from the Media Center ceiling. A sombrero-wearing teacher tied a blindfold around Philip Baldwin's head, gave him the piM-qata stick and spun him around slowly.

First, Philip tapped the piM-qata lightly. Then he whacked it hard and cut a little hole in it. The other kids cheered. Philip took off his blindfold and grinned.

One by one, the other children took their turns, trying to set free the candies inside the piM-qata.

Even the teachers participated. After every child had taken a turn blindfolded, they got a second chance, this time without a blindfold. Then they hit the piM-qatas hard until finally, one by one, the piM-qatas broke open.

Bursting from the piM-qatas were streams of candy, which were immediately pounced on by the youngsters.

Family blessings

This weekend, in honor of the Feast of the Holy Family, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Crofton will offer a blessing of families at the end of each Mass. All families are invited to participate. Information, 410-721-5770.

Senior center closed

Maryland City Senior Activity Site, located at Resurrection of Our Lord Catholic Church, 8402 Brock Bridge Road, Laurel, will be closed today, Thursday and Jan. 31 for the holidays.

The center will reopen Jan. 3.

Among programs planned at the center for next month are line dancing, crafts, weight training, tai chi and art. An 8-week series of meetings dealing with issues faced by caregivers will begin Jan. 7. Information: 410-222-4464.