The holidays are usually a special time for me, because it’s when we come together as a family. We celebrate Christmas and New Years at my grandma’s house. Everyone cooks and we bring food over. We tell stories and recap events of the past year, as well as what we want to change for the upcoming year. This became a tradition that we do every Christmas, because it’s a way of looking forward to a new and better year. We usually come together on Christmas Eve, and stay over until New Year’s Day. My cousins and I are in charge of decorating the Christmas tree, while the adults decorate the table.

The most memorable Christmas gathering was while decorating the tree one year. One of my cousins leaned a bit too much on the tree, knocking it over onto the presents, not to mention ruining all of our hard work. I was angry, but at the same time amused, because her facial expression was a mix of shock, and embarrassment. That became one of the stories that we look back on and laugh about, because with all of the pictures and videos that everyone took, that was the first time that anyone knocked the tree over.

This tradition became ours because we were not as close as a family as we use to be due to everyone growing up and going their separate ways, or everyone having their own plans for the holidays. By meeting and spending time together, we decided that this would become a tradition that we do every year. We always manage to make one another laugh in various ways and we always have a good time when we are together.