Love & Hope Children’s Home was a full house on Christmas Eve: 23 kids! We planned plenty to keep us busy though. We wanted to share our fun day with you!
On Christmas Eve in El Salvador, “Noche Buena” in Spanish, many families stay up until midnight. Salvadorans eat a late dinner, and at 12:00 am Christmas morning, the country lights up – with fireworks! What the rest of the world might refer to as a “Silent Night,” is anything but silent in Central America. Our children are no exception. They want to do it all: stay up and celebrate the birth of Christ with a bang. In order to keep the adults awake that late, we keep busy with games and activities beginning early in the afternoon!
The fun begins at 11:00 am with a coloring contest. We have three categories: little kids, big kids and adults. This year, the winners were: Vanessa, Raquel, and Tio Henry.
After eating a normal lunch at noon, the kids are supposed to enjoy a nap while the adults start cooking dinner. This year, no one really wanted to sleep. Our average age is increasing, and naps aren’t as necessity anymore. Some of the kids opted to go to the park and play instead. Later, we wrapped presents for the community (we’ll talk more about that later).
Next, it was time for gingerbread houses. Each room of kids was a team. There isn’t much gingerbread in El Salvador, so we use the term loosely. Maybe we should call them sugar houses; they are made of cookies, candy, gummies, frosting, chocolate and the like. The groups hurried to finish their house in the most creative way possible. The older girls won the best house this year! They even made a little pond for a gummy penguin. 
Everyone finished their gingerbread houses just in time for church at 7:00 pm. By the time we arrived home, the kids were hungry. Rachel read them the Christmas story, we prayed, and then it was time to feast. We cooked American fare: two huge turkeys, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, corn and bread. There was plenty of food and everyone was stuffed afterward.
After eating, the kids cleared the dining room out for a sleepover. They pulled their mattresses out, snuggled up together and watched Miracle on 34th Street.
Before midnight, our neighbors started with the fireworks. We went outside soon after to do our own!
Afterward, the kids settled down again, enjoyed some dessert and another movie, and eventually fell asleep.
On Christmas morning, we slept in. After waking up, the kids immediately went outside to check under our Christmas tree. In the words of Michell: “I don’t understand how she does it. When I went to bed, Mami was already asleep. Maybe I’ll understand when I’m 18.” Santa and his elves must have helped Mami out, Michell!
Before opening their own presents, we had to carry out Love & Hope’s most favorite Christmas tradition. Everyone loaded into the vans with the gifts they had wrapped on Christmas Eve, and we headed to a nearby community. The kids took turns handing out their gifts to children who approached us. It is a joy to give and we are grateful to be able to give our kids the opportunity to give every Christmas.
Finally, it was time to see what was under the tree. Rachel hands the gifts out one-by-one, and the kids take turns opening them. Everyone is very patient and loves sharing in the joy of opening each present. This year, each child received something fun (a toy, lotion set, headphones, etc.), a new outfit, a Love & Hope t-shirt, and their two pairs of school shoes for the coming year.
Stockings were last. Santa even left stockings for the adults! For breakfast, we ate candy and Poptarts. The rest of the day was a do-nothing day. The kids played with their new toys and watched Christmas movies all day long. It was a wonderful, relaxed day spent with our big family.
