Christmas Day was spent at my house this year. It was the first major celebration in my new pad and I was a little freaked out. When I say major, I don't mean it by the number of people that were there. It was major in terms of family tradition. As my sister and I get older, I think my mom works harder to keep certain traditions alive and I find myself trying to help her to that end.

Everybody received very nice gifts, though pajamas and socks seemed to be the main theme for my sister and dad. A major no-no came to light when my mom revealed that my dad asked her to wrap her own gift! Bad... very bad. I attempted to drag my parents into the new century by getting them a DVD player. The first movie they watched was from my own 4-DVD "collection".

My best gifts were the George Foreman Grill and a first aid kit. I don't know exactly what message was they were trying to send, but I just want to say that I can cook without injuring myself, really. It was pure coincidence that we went out for dinner. Nothing says Christmas more than Chinese food, so we ended the holiday with a small feast at my parents' favorite Chinese restaurant.