We do traditional American for Thanksgiving and then traditional Puertorican for Navidad. That is: arroz con gandules(spanish rice w/pigeon peas), roast pork, pasteles(the carribean version of tamales---instead of corn, the dough/masa is made out of finely grated Yucca or finely grated green bananas and some other tubers that aren't common here(yautia---aka Malanga, aka Taro root). They are then wrapped in banana leaves after they are filled with a meat mixture(usually pork). You thought tamles were a pain in the butt to make!!! Even with the food processor I spend 4 hours just making the masa---ever peel green bananas??? The other sides are usually potato salad, pan con ajo(garlic bread), and for dessert arroz con dulce (a concoction similar to rice pudding---very sweet and made with coconut cream), and tembleque---a custard made out of coconut milk, sugar, and cornstarch that is cooked on the stove and then poored into a dish to chill and sprinkled w/cinnamon. In Puerto Rico they drink coquito(like egg nog, only has coconut milk in it and usually rum). Yummy---unless you don't care for coconut. It is a lot of fun for my kids to learn about the Christmas traditions there. They get gifts from relatives here on Christmas, and more gifts from relatives in Puerto Rico on January 6th---Three Kings Day. Sorry I wrote a novel about our Christmas traditions. Tyffanie

Down.

Christmas mess doesn't count as mess, Susan! :-) Gazania, I never thought of how unusual a family photo Christmas card must have been back then, but I'm sure you're right. My parents made them for years, starting before I was born--my mom doing the artwork and my dad taking the pictures and printing all the cards in his darkroom. When I was a child we would sit around the kitchen table together and look at all the cards we received, commenting on each one. I tried to continue that tradition when my children were growing up, but their interest was limited and their father's interest nonexistent. So now I'm sitting around the Kitchen Table with all of you, sharing again. :-)

Jasdip, yes we did. We're up in the mountains and this storm dropped just enough to be pretty but not so much that it's impossible to get around and drive. I'm packing for our trip right now, but if I get a minute today, I'll post a pic of the storm of 2008. Our house was buried!