Christmas

Now that I am all ready for my flight to Rome this afternoon, and then to return to America on Sunday, I am getting really excited for Christmas at home. One of my fellow expat friends is writing about her 12 favorite Christmas memories and it made me want to write about mine. But instead, since my memories aren't quite as poetic as hers and it would be very difficult, I decided to write about my family's Christmas traditions that I love so much and look forward to every year. I am so happy I was able to go home because I don't know what Christmas would be like without my family and our traditions.

First of all, we usually have a dinner with our cousins, sometime in the week before Christmas when we usually order Chinese food and exchange gifts. It is a very casual relaxed dinner and very nice. This year we are doing it the night I get home so I am excited.

Then, on Christmas Eve, we go to the early mass at church (I think it is at 6). We always go there with our cousins too and some more of their family. Then we go home to light the lumineria (the candlelit bags that line our yard and our street). We get ready and then we head over to our cousins house where they have a big Christmas Eve party every year. This is the only part of our Christmas that is really even remotely formal, which I really like because I don't like formal things. We get slightly dressed up for church and for the party and that's all. It is a really good party with mostly family and some close friends too. We always have a really good time there. Santa even pays a visit too.

After the party, we go home pretty early, and sometimes we decided to each open one present. So we do that all together and then if we are in the mood we try to watch a movie together as a family (which we never do). Then we go to bed early because even though we are all old now, we (usually just me) get up very early on Christmas morning still. What can I say, I am still a little kid at heart! This year will be interesting because we have my aunt Polly and her husband Steve and daughter Sadie, who is four, so it is the first time in a long time we will have an actual little kid in our house.

Anyway, Christmas morning we wake up and our stockings are on the foot of our beds. So we spend some time opening them and then we go into each others room and compare and look at what we got. When we think it is finally late enough we wake up our parents (if they haven't heard us already) and we can go downstairs to start opening presents. After the presents (we try to take our time as much as possible), we usually have a special big breakfast. During the course of the morning we also talk to our relatives from California who are always up early with their kids.

Then we spend the day relaxing in our pajamas, sometimes we play a game together, sometimes we watch a movie, but it depends on what everyone got for Christmas. We usually stay in our pajamas most of the day and for lunch/dinner my mom makes a ham and we have ham sandwiches, very casual. Then if we are in the mood and there is a good movie playing, we finally get dressed and go to the movies together.

Ok, that was a lot longer and more detailed than I thought it would be but I really love the way my family spends Christmas and it makes me happy just writing about it. Sorry if it is boring to some of you but it is nice now even if it is just for me to have in the future.

Four days until Christmas!!! :)

...the next time I write it will probably be in America! So exciting!! :)