Christmas Day in Brazil! (Dec. 25, day 9)

If you remember, we didn't get home until well past the wee hours the night before, so nobody was stirring very early on Christmast morning. We were the first ones up, around 10:00(or rather, I was), and I went and stole Thomas from his parents, who weren't as wide awake as he was. I had gotten him a Christmas book and we gave it to him and he let me read the entire book without interruptions! Then he had to "read" it himself. He was content to hang out with us for quite a while.

Early afternoon we headed back over to Nino and Landa's, ostensibly to help them eat up the many leftovers from the night before, but also just because they seem to love to have family around. I didn't mention in the previous post, but they served for the Christmas Eve meal: turkey, chester (between a turkey and chicken in size), chicken, pork roast and lamb! No wonder we had leftovers! There was also a pasta dish and salad, besides bowls and bowls of fresh fruit! Then there was cake - and these cakes were to die for! I think I feel myself putting on weight, just thinking about them! (drool, drool...) And, of course, there was cafe!
After the meal was cleared away, we had the Secret Santa exchange. Rodrigo started it out, and we found, to our dismay, that one was expected to describe the person one bought for and they would try to guess who it was. In Portuguese. It was fun anyway, we just had a few anxious moments. Most of the gifts were practical, but the very first one was kind of funny. Rodrigo had his father, Nino, and wrote a note to go with the gift. First he pulled out a child's horn, like for a bicyle. Apparently, dealing with traffic is a special pet peeve of Nino's. If that didn't work, then the next gift, an aerosol air horn could be used. The final gift was a pair of leather shoes - if all else fails, get out and walk! We all had a good laugh over that one, as the traffic in São Paulo is horrendous! I certainly don't think I would want to walk any where near it, though!
We got back somewhat earlier that evening, as we had an earlier start to the day, and the babies dictated that it had been long enough. Thank goodness for the babies! It was a wonderful couple of days, with wonderful people, who will stay in our hearts forever!