The second family Christmas party felt like déjà vu from last week.

The similarities:

We had an abundance of delicious food and desserts. Everyone contributed something to the spread.

Family came in from out of town to join the festivities. Our out-of-state family members didn’t make the trip, but it was great to see the family from San Diego.

Minel did his part for the adorable baby/toddler quota.

One of my male family members volunteered to dress up as Santa and pass out gifts. Last week it was my cousin Jesus, this week it was tío Beto. Of course, Minel wasn’t into the Santa thing. He was just as resistant as Olivia last week. [Side note: even though Minel and Olivia are not related, I think they could be fraternal twins. It must be the curly hair and the proximity in age.]

Dad got out the guitar and we sang some Christmas carols. Adrian accompanied him on the snare drum.

I brought a second beautiful piñata and my cousins’ kids gave it a beating. Since these kids are older, taller and stronger, we had to handicap them in some way. After diving in to the melee for some candy, Padrino José passed out the bolo, or the traditional grab bag of peanuts, cookies, candies and tangerines.

Once again, I felt like I got hosed when it came to the height genes when standing next to my tall cousins. Nancy, Vanny, Valerie and my sister will all be part of my wedding party next year. I either need to make them wear flats or wear the highest heels I can find, if only for photos.

I forgot my camera this week and relied on my iPhone. Luckily, Sean brought along his camera and tried out his new flash and diffuser. He was a good sport being the unofficial photographer.

The differences:

Instead of doing a white elephant, we were much nicer an did a Secret Santa. Sean picked Papá Chepe and bought him a newsboy cap. I think he wears it well.

Also, we played some games. In the past we’ve done Wii games and karaoke. This year we kept it less physical with a round of Taboo amongst the cousins.

We got to open more presents!

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Christmas Day was super low key as it’s been for the last 10+ years. Since we went to Mass on Christmas Eve, I just spent the afternoon and evening lounging around the parents’ house. My brothers spent most of the day with their girlfriends so it was just Lori, the parents, Sean and me. We watched a few basketball games, ate leftovers for dinner, and played card games. It wasn’t too different from most Sundays.