I Want to Remember This Christmas, Part Two

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

As usual, Silas was up bright and early on Christmas Eve with his excitement for the holidays brimming over! Our kitchen began bustling with activity from morning to night. First it was baking chocolate chip banana bread for our gifts to neighbors. I guess it's fair to say that I procrastinated this year, and we took a different tact (from making a variety of Christmas cookies) in order to simplify! But on our annual pre-Christmas shopping getaway, Pedro and I found cute snowman-themed boxes made of wood and tin that provided the perfect placement. Unexpectedly, we discovered that they were brand-new from Kohl's with a price tag of $34.99 USD when we paid only 2500 pesos (approximately $2.50 USD) for each one. That was a fun surprise! When my nine loaves were done, Pedro began his cooking in earnest. Turkey, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrot salad and cucumber salad were all made to perfection. To this feast our friend Solange added her signature pea, onion and parsley salad as well as a beautiful appetizer of palta reina (half an avocado stuffed with chicken salad) on a bed of lettuce. To Pedro's delight, our friend Yilena from Colombia brought homemade arroz con leche which we were too full to eat that night and he got to enjoy for several days afterwards!

Our guests were nine women without close family nearby. Solange with daughter Sofia and her visiting sister and two nieces; Yilena with daughter Valeria; Ibodne and Catalina. We said 8 PM but of course that's not the time we started dinner! So between eating, talking, laughing, afterwards playing games of Sushi Go and Pit while drinking coffee and enjoying sweet snacks, it was 11:45 PM before we knew it. We learned that the visiting 8-year old niece believes in Santa Claus and that her family tradition is to run outside to catch a glimpse of him before midnight, while in the meantime someone puts her gifts under the tree "from Santa." While it's not our tradition, it seemed a kindness to allow since her little family is in the midst of a heartbreaking loss. It was tender to be told "thank you" in her sweet voice for supposedly allowing Santa into my living room! Soon we were exchanging gifts and snapping pictures. Around 12:30 AM, Pedro took all the guests but Ibodne and Catalina home (since they were spending the night on our  couches.) By popular vote, it was decided to fulfill our family's tradition of watching "The Nativity" on Christmas Eve before heading to bed. Pedro was exhausted after all day cooking so he retired early. I stepped into the kitchen with Owen observing me to complete another tradition (mixing up oatmeal bake for the next day's breakfast.) Thus it was 3 AM before most heads hit their pillows!