Christmas Traditions

Christmas time is a big deal in my family. We have many practiced traditions that have been in place for as long as I can remember. I have a huge family and Christmas is a time where we all come together. Every year on Christmas Eve, my family comes together for a huge dinner, and gift opening. Before my grandmother passed away, all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would get in our pajamas and go over to her house around nine ‘o’clock. My grandmother would cook a big pot of gumbo and other traditional Christmas foods. I have seven aunts and two uncles, whom all have children. I have about thirty or more cousins. We have made it a tradition to pick names out of a hat to see who will buy whom a present. Since my family is so big, and is only getting bigger, we have categories of name picking. It gets pretty hectic but it's my family so I'm used to it. Now that my grandmother has passed on, each of the aunt's take turns having the dinner at their house. Most of my cousin's my age or older have had their own children, so now we make sure that they get the same experiences we had and dress them up in pajamas. We open all of our gifts at midnight. This year it was the same, and I am happy each year to see how big my family has grown.