Since we combine traditions from both cultures, we have two very fun-filled days of celebrations. This is Tori waiting patiently to start opening the gifts from the German side of the family on Christmas Eve (and of course, waiting for the Christkind to come. So far, the Christkind and the German family are the same person).
Of course, no child should be allowed to open presents without having to endure something mundane like eating dinner first. Tori is no exception. Though I'm still not 100% thrilled about eating hot dogs and potato salad on Christmas Eve (sorry Hans, but we really can't get real Frankfurters here), this is one of the traditions we have. Many Germans eat this, or similar easy meals on Christmas Eve because the preparation and clean-up is minimal. This makes sense since the main gift-exchange and Christmas celebration is held on Christmas Eve.
Here is our traditional (at least Lorz traditional) potato salad and Frankfurter Christmas Eve dinner. Mmmmm... I found a potato salad recipe claiming to be German in origin and made that for dinner. We all loved it. But not even hot dogs could keep us from getting excited about opening presents. Daddy and Tori were both excited about this fun gift from Opa and Oma.
They played with it for hours!!
After prying them away from the new train set and getting ready for bed, we pulled out the American tradition of setting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus. Daddy couldn't decide which cookies Santa might like, so he set out the entire variety of cookies we had recieved and made for Christmas. Santa didn't eat them all, but he wasn't hurting for variety, that's for sure!
Santa did come to our house on Christmas Eve. Tori woke up to a new kitchen with lots of accessories. She also was allowed to open her American family gifts on Christmas Day. Of course, Christmas would not have been complete without this awesome gift from Grandma and Grandpa Lugo...
TINKERBELL! A new Tinkerbell costume, and Tinkerbell and Terrence dolls. Between the train and Tinkerbell, Santa could have saved the kitchen for next year!
While Daddy and Tori played and played all day, Mommy made Christmas dinner for her little family (which she enjoyed very much!). Here is our Christmas dinner table.
By the time we sat down to dinner, Tori did her best to eat a bite or two before her poor eyes couldn't stay open anymore. She had such a good time playing with Daddy on Christmas Day, that she wouldn't even stop for a nap. It was such a good day, and all of us enjoyed sharing the day with each other. Nothing can compare to the love of family, especially on Christmas!
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