x-tra-special-mas

And the celebration continued! After mass the second round of guests started piling in, this time those from my Mom's side of the family and a couple of family friends as well. 

Our appetizer spread included chicken salad, tortilla chips, salsa, left-over ceviche, crudités, and Gena's Marinated beet carpaccio with wilted beet greens. Besides the last one, I didn't pick much, just spent my time in the midst of girl talk. I would blame it on the fact that I was feeling somewhat Grinch0-like, but, who I am kidding, there's always so much of that to go around anyway ;).

Since my two second-cousins are both vegan, by the time linner was ready, we were more than prepared to serve a completely cruelty-free  meal. I joined in as well, and between the roasted root vegetables, steamed veggie medley, salad, garlic asparagus, and sweet potato, I was more than satisfied with my plate. I even went back for more :).

Ultimately, it was between a pork roast and vegetables galore... not a tough choice at all.

Then it was time for more presents! For the longest time my siblings and I were the only kids on my mom's side. From that I guess you could say we're spoiled but that's not where I'm going with this ;). What I am trying to convey is that now, our six first cousins are all below the age of nine, and I love it. It's absolutely adorable watching their faces light up as they pass out and unwrap gifts. Here I am in the middle of finding that I am the new owner of a sexy (if I do say so myself) pair of Rock &  Republic jeans. Other gifts included the annual Broadway play (January 3rd) and travel money. Clare bear, to the right of me, and my grandmother also got very lucky :).

Following the exchange of our sweet new things we moved onto dessert. My aunt brought over homemade Spanish cookies (courtesy of her mother-in-law), and my uncle and family made M&M cookies. It was a tough choice by in the end I just went for a nice big mug of homemade hot-cocoa and an M&M cookie. It most definitely was not vegan but it was delicious for sure.

One of my cousins was not feeling well so he, his two brothers, his mom (my aunt) and their friend left soon after but otherwise the fun ensued. Since I was on somewhat of a sugar-high at this point, we quickly snapped a great-grandchildren picture,

and then proceeded to dance the night away. Clockwise from top right (just in case you're interested): me, Jake, Jorgie (my brother), Bianca, Deanna (my sister), Clare, our great-grandmother (94), and Kyle. As you may have inferred by my first holiday post, us younger generations were pretty hyper, and even made the boy join in upon long-awaited arrival. Beforehand, however, we were literally out of control, without any egg nog having passed our lips.

Embarassing? Maybe. But years from now I'm sure I will appreciate it. Or at least I hope so. I hope you enjoyed your holiday to the fullest, in whichever way you know how ;). Regular posting will re-commence tomorrow, I, for one, am very much looking forward to it. Take care sweethearts!