By Ana Garcia, October 8, 2019 — The best Christmas was when the whole family was together. We were at my daughter’s house on Christmas Eve. All three of my daughters, their husbands and my eleven grandchildren were together for Christmas. Earlier that day, my daughters and I got together to make the feast. We had asked everyone what they wanted to eat and took every request. The dishes included puerco asado, pollo al horno, empanadas, kipe, Dominican potato salad, bolas de papa, etc. The eldest grandchildren were in charge of making the desserts. It took all day.
When we were all together, there was more playing than cooking which is why it took us so long despite having seven pairs of hands helping out. The younger children were watching a movie and occasionally sneaking into the kitchen to taste the food. My three son-in-laws were in charge of preparing the drinks and setting the tables. At about eight at night, the food was ready, the family surrounded the table to pray over the food and to give thanks.
Afterward, we sat at the table to eat which gave a chance for the youngest to ask nonstop questions about us. We shared stories of when we first moved to America, how my daughters were when they younger and even the children shared their own stories. When we had finished eating our fill, we wasted no time in putting the music on full volume. The children went downstairs to the basement to play while the adults stayed to dance with each other. At midnight, the children ran upstairs to open presents and the whole family ended up sleeping over that night. The next day, breakfast was heated-up leftovers.