Our 80s Christmas Family Reunion

I still remember one Christmas day when I was still a kid. If I'm not mistaken, it was probably in 1989. We went to the province, a 2-hour drive from Manila, to celebrate Christmas with the entire family. We were complete back then: My grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and extended family members. We made sure that everyone was there before Christmas Eve.

We started off with the gathering in the morning and we ate breakfast and lunch together. We just hung out. The grown-ups were just sitting there talking and us kids, we went out and played together and we also played with the other kids in the neighborhood. In the afternoon, they started to prepare the food that we're going to eat at 12 midnight. We continued to play and some of us slept for a couple of hours so that we will be awake during the celebration.

Around 11 pm, we sat down and watched TV while the feast was prepared. At around 11:30, they began to light up fireworks and for some of us, firecrackers. It was really loud and you can really feel the festive ambience of the place. The rest of the people in the neighborhood were also awake and they had celebrations on their own so it's like a huge celebration throughout the village.

At 12:00, our grandfather would start a prayer while everyone was gathered around the food. After the prayer, we started eating together. The radio was on, the television was on, everyone was so rowdy and noisy and it was really fun.

The next part of the celebration would be the giving of the gifts. We shared and opened them and I still remember some of the toys I got. Then, they had a treat for the kids and we were all asked to gather in the living room. The lights were out and only the Christmas lights and the Christmas tree were lit.

Then, we noticed that the windows and the doors were closed in the living room. It was dim then suddenly someone knocked on the door and the grown-ups had a look of confusion and curiosity. They opened the door and there were presents by the front gate and they were for all of us. It was Santa Claus.

After the feast and the giving of gifts, everyone became real tired and we then headed off to sleep. We went to our respective homes the next afternoon. Some of my cousins stayed for a couple more days for vacation but we had to head back due to my dad's work

Today, we just celebrate here at home with my mom and sister. We eat lunch and take a stroll in nearby malls during Christmas day. We don't go to the family reunions anymore. Everyone is so busy now. We're already grown-ups and we usually have very tight schedules. We do greet each other a Merry Christmas but I'm pretty sure, another family reunion during Christmas will be in place soon.