Christmas Birthday Party

with Mama, Mariel, Maris, Katherine & Jian

Christmas day is my nephew Jian's birthday. This year's celebration was different in that instead of having a party for just close family and friends--all the neighborhood kids were invited. It must be tough for a newly minted 14-year-old to have a children's party on his birthday but he was persuaded to share his blessings this Christmas to kids who needed it.

trying to hit pottery full of candies

There must be more than 50 children who attended and it was a lot of fun. Isn't it funny how being around children makes you have perspective about things? Their sheer joy in the little things is a wonder to behold. Sometimes as adults we fail to appreciate the importance of the simple things.

digging in

Kids don't have that problem. Watching them as they participated in games, danced with abandon, sang karaoke uncaring how they sounded to people listening--was a real treat. A reminder that there was a time that I wasn't too cautious or jaded...ah the good times.

Jian giving away prizes

The celebration went on all afternoon and night...there were people still coming at 9 pm and luckily the food was enough for everybody. Everyone was tired at the end of the day--but the kids (young and old) had fun--so mission accomplished.