Here is something posted by Teresa...

C'mas Quandaries

One of the odd things about our missionary homes is that we end up with a total mish-mash of cultural backgrounds, generations, social backgrounds and opinions living under one same roof. They say variety is the spice of life, and one of the spiciest times is during traditional holidays because everyone has their own traditional way to celebrate. Now, the point of tradition is to repeat it, but how do you repeat everyone’s particular ritual all at the same time?
For example, in our home we face the following decisions. What do we do?

Christmas Eve:
Open the presents at midnight, and then party like there is no tomorrow
Open the presents at midnight, and then sing Christmas carols
Go out singing and open the presents whenever
Eat your Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and open the presents on Christmas morning
Never open presents on Christmas morning
Kids open their presents Christmas morning, adults open them that evening

Christmas Dinner:
Turkey
Barbeque
Mole and Pozole and Mexican goodies
Prepare everyone’s favorite dish
Forget Christmas cooking, eat sandwiches and relax

Christmas Gifts:
Play secret santa and make sure nobody’s gifts cost less than 20 USD
Do not play secret santa because it institutionalizes the giving of gifts
Buy no gifts and save the money for vacations
Stuff Christmas stockings instead of giving gifts

Christmas Decorations:
Decorate everything together one evening
Appoint a decorating committee to ensure all baubles are color-coded and matching
Allow the kids to decorate the house
Never allow the kids to decorate the house

… And on the list goes. The cool thing about being a missionary and traveling around is that you learn to adapt, and often invent new traditions! I can’t wait to see what we’ll end up doing this year.