Santa not so secret

Yesterday was Mr E Man's family's pre-Christmas party. Everyone tends to spread out for the day itself, so those of us in and around Vancouver always get together for an afternoon and evening of drinks and delicious food before the main festive craziness begins. My sister-in-law usually hosts, but seeing as her place is under renovation and all four of them are living in the tiny basement, we volunteered to host this time.

I may have mentioned before that while I do most of the bog standard weeknight cooking, Mr E Man is actually a much better cook than me, and handles all the special occasion fancy-pants dinners. Last night he made roast pork with a pear-apricot-maple chutney, roast potatoes and carrots, spaghetti squash with dill and pine nuts, and leeks with a cheese sauce. Various other people brought salads, snacks and desserts, and everything was delicious.

Other than the food, my favourite part of the evening is the secret Santa. This is an unknown phenomenon in my (much smaller) family - everyone buys something for everyone else. But in my in-laws' family, all the adults buy something for each of the six nephews, and everyone else does secret Santa.

Wrapping the presents for our nephews. Instead of name tags, we attach chocolate letters for each boy's initial - a brainwave I came up with five years ago. Someone at the store that makes the letters always asks us what we're trying to spell.

Every Santa needs a little helper.
"Mine iz G for Google? Or C for Cheezburger?"

Only two nephews made it yesterday, but the seven-year old made up for the absence of his cousins by having enough energy and enthusiasm for a whole gaggle of nephews! (His thirteen-year old brother is a bit too cool). He loved his presents, and his yummy chocolate K.

The identity of the Secret Santa stays secret for about 5 seconds after the present is opened, because whoever bought that particular gift is always so eager to explain what it is and why they bought it. My brother-in-law - a brand new boat-owner - wasn't quite sure what I'd got him, so I had to explain how the radio / flashlight / cell phone charger combo unit can be charged through the mains, by a hand crank, or by the sun - and that blew my cover. Mr E Man got a kick-ass kitchen knife from his brother - who immediately started to tell him how good it is. And the lovely wrap I got was labeled with the name of a shop a few streets away from my mother-in-law's house.

Still, it's a great tradition. And as hosts, we got some extra gifts - chocolates, and some fancy soap. Oh, and the most disturbing Christmas card I've ever seen.

The inside says "He knows when you've been naughty". Yikes!

I love my in-laws.