One of the hallmarks of a good celebration is balancing tradition with the new. Our default is to try to out-do what was done in the past, although I must admit this is getting more difficult to do year after year, as everyone already owns everything!
This year's tradition usually starts with the family's dinner.
Gayle prepared all the food as requests from various members of the family had to be fulfilled.
Oleg requested Christmas pudding (it's supposed to be the British-kind but minus raisins...Gayle can't stand them).
Arvin requested "Egg pie" which is a local favorite back in the Philippines. We all grew up on it so it was a nice treat (the only mishap was mis-judging the depth of the pie crust, which was made from scratch by the way - kinda reminds you of an oversize spoiler on a tiny car).
Next is gift-giving. We usually go by age, but then once the gifts are opened, it becomes a free-for-all in terms of their attention to others' gifts (of course they'd be focused on their own!)