Baby's First Christmas!

We celebrated Eli's first Christmas in our native Puerto Rico! And what a wonderful time we had! I still believe there is no Christmas like the ones in Puerto Rico.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Old San Juan

The celebration started with our traditional dinner/party on Christmas Eve, or as we call it, Noche Buena. This year, the gathering was at my parents. We had a blast with family and friends, good food (arroz con gandules, pernil, potato salad, jamón con piña, and even tembleque) and coquito (a traditional Christmas drink made with cream of coconut).  At one point, we all gathered around the piano and started singing parrandas - Puerto Rican Christmas music- and playing instruments like maracas, pandereta, güiro and piano. Eli wore a beautiful red dress in which she looked absolutely stunning.

Eli in her amazing red dress for Noche Buena

After the party was over, my parents went to Misa de Gallo at 11:00 p.m. while we stayed at home waiting for them to come back. Our family's tradition is to open gifts after midnight in our pj's around the tree. But this year, I was so tired and my parents got home later than we expected, that I decided to go to bed as Eli had been sleeping for a while.

So, we opened gifts on Christmas morning before going to Church. I woke up at 8:00 a.m., fed Eli and made breakfast for the whole family. I looked up a recipe for French Toast Waffles, which turned out really yummy. After Church, Eli, or rather we helped her, opened her gifts. She got some cool toys, cute clothes and stuffed animals! It was great to see her expression when she saw her gifts. However, the greatest gift of all was spending her first Christmas with her, dh, sisters, my parents and my in-laws. I couldn't have asked for anything better!

 

 

But, I also remember the real meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus, our savior.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (KJB)

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