THE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS

THE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS
For years I would drive myself nuts with Christmas lists and ideas for everyone in our quite large family. We had all started exchanging gifts from early days before each of the siblings married and had families of their own. As each family increased, so did our lists until one day we noticed there were over 40 of us!

Several years ago, my sister and I talked it over with our mom and we all decided to approach the rest of family to start a "new tradition". This is how our family gift exchange came into being. We divided the list by age groups into the kupuna (adults, elders) and the keiki (children)  and then drew names for a gift exchange among the members within each group.

The rules are simple; you must send a gift to the person whose name you drew. If you wish to send gifts to anyone else in the family, by all means, you may do so, but there is only the one obligation to fulfill. This has made it much easier to handle the family gift giving part of the holidays. Since we all live so far apart, each year around mid October, the exchange list is posted in the family website.

My American Greatgrandparents - he owned a photo studio in late 1800's and early 1900's in Demorest GA.  - maternal side

Our mom has a "family wall" in her dining room. The wall is covered with framed photos of all of us children, grands and great grands. During a visit this summer, my sister realized that many of the family pictures were very outdated. Through our family website she contacted all the rest and mentioned that instead of sending the Tutus (grandparents) 'stuff' they did not really need, to please make it framed pictures to update the wall.

 My two Cuban Greatgrandmothers - paternal side

This started me thinking even further, resulting in my sister and I collaborating on a project for a future Christmas. Sandra and I have been working on our family genealogy on and off for years. We are fortunate that our great-grandfather was a photographer in the late 1800's and early 1900's. We have many of the old glass negatives of early family pictures. My sister taught herself how to clean, restore and make copies of this amazing collection.

My Cuban Grandparents - my dad's parents

I had the idea of putting together the family tree in book or CD form with as many photos of everyone as possible and fill in with stories, anecdotes and family recipes. When completed, each member of the family will receive one as a gift from us.

My American Grandparents - my mom's parents

To this end, we have started collecting recipes from family members.  We already have some from our grandmothers. Some of them list the ingredients and preparation, but no quantities, so we have been playing around with them until the results resemble what we remember.

This project is still in the works and I can hardly wait to get it done, though the work itself...the collecting and the putting together of photos, information annecdotes and recipes is the most enjoyable part.

Me......at 6 months old

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