We decided to spend Christmas with Sandra’s mother this year, because we hadn’t seen her family since last Christmas. As always, they were very welcoming. We arrived on the evening of the 23rd, went to bed early, and took it easy all day on the 24th so I’d have the energy to stay awake through the evening. Latino Christmases are like Australian New Years Eves in that the party climaxes as the day begins.

We didn’t want Sandra’s mum to cook, so we bought some potato tamale’s (mashed potatoes with chunks of meat and vegetables all boiled inside a banana leaf) for dinner, which, thankfully, we ate before midnight. My family called, so the two families finally met, though neither spoke the other’s language so it was a simple exchange.

I ended up lying on the sofa for the last hour before midnight, unable to keep up with the flow of Spanish so late at night, and then it was present time. We each took turns selecting a present from the pile and presenting it to whoever it was meant for, then all enjoyed the joy as the present was unwrapped. There were a lot of great presents given out, and I felt thoroughly spoiled because I received a number of presents when I’d only been expecting one or two. All of them were very personalised to the point that Sandra’s mum even knew exactly which bottle of whisky to give me.

I was in bed by 1am while the rest of the family stayed up until nearly dawn, so Christmas Day itself was very slow. I did learn how to play Parquet, which is like a more complicated version of Ludo that Sandra’s family loves to play (and they play fast!). We returned home on the 27th, grateful for our first chance to spend time with family in a year.