the traditions of my family's christmas eve

the festivities begin at 4:00, when my aunts, uncles, and cousins gather at grandma and grandpa friesen's house. we always plan to eat christmas dinner at around 4:30, but usually have to wait on my aunt and uncle who live an hour away. (this year they were told to arrive at 3:00, so they arrived in time to eat for the first time ever!!) i'm the oldest grandchild and us older cousins get shuffled back and forth from the adult table to the kids' table and back again from year to year. this time, my sister, her husband, and i sat with the adults for the meal and i shifted to kids' table for desert.

after dinner, we all change for church and there is much hair-curling/styling of the littler girl cousins by the older cousins (i stay out of this part). grandma and grandpa live about 3 blocks from church so all 24 of us walk, unless there is an extenuating circumstance (like someone having a bad cold or me having my appendix out right before christmas last year). church is always the same -- a christmas pagent with a live newborn and its parents and the same actors as shepherds, wisemen, and angels every year. this time it was completely different, which was great! our lead pastor gave a monologue about the era Jesus was born and less well known circumstances surrounding His birth. it was really interesting, but i couldn't stay awake for the whole thing. :-
after the service, we visit awhile with old friends and then walk back to grandma's to change into comfy clothes and wait for everyone to arrive from church. until a few years ago, this was the most excruciating part of the night as us cousins were all anxious to open gifts. now it's just the youngest two (i believe they are 10 yrs old now) and my brother-in-law who have trouble waiting. (Brian gets the most excited to open gifts of any adult i know!) after about an hour of waiting, we all gather downstairs and the cousins start opening gifts from each other. we always start with the youngest and work our way to the oldest. every year, us older kids try to convince everyone that it's only fair to go oldest to youngest once in a while, but there's never enough interest! then everyone opens gifts from our grandparents and find what the aunts and uncles left in our stockings.

after thanking everyone for the gifts, we start grazing on the snacks grandma, grandpa, and the aunts have prepared: cheesy-hamburger dip and chips, smokies, several types of chex mix, chocolate-peanut-butter ritz, and marshmellows dunked in carmel and rice crispies, and desert from dinner.

then comes the most entertaining part of the evening: bingo! this tradition started only a few years ago, but it quickly became the favorite activity of most of us. we each get two bingo cards and pick out dollar-store gifts with each bingo we get. there is much stealing of gifts (the favorites are windshield deicer and utility knives), a few that no one wants to steal (a thong -- there is always speculation about the look the cashier gives grandma and grandpa when they buy one each year), and many that appeal to some but definitely not others (bobbie pins, puzzles, chip clips, toilet paper).

then the cousins generally finish snacking and retreat to the tv to battle for the best show -- this year was the main selection. once in a while, some of the cousins entertain the rest of us instead. two years ago, two of them got homemade guitars as an inside joke and they kept us rolling on the floor in laughter for hours. a few years ago, one cousin got a game that reminds me of the nintendo wii system. there was a football mat and a special ball that sensed when it was being hiked, thrown, etc. only one of the older cousins could get it to work and it was really entertaining watching the recipient of the gift and some of the others try to catch on.

the evening ends between 1:30 and 4:00 with a cold, but joyous ride home.

before going to bed, we usually open gifts at mom's, so the night can get pretty late!