01726: Christmas Game Day

Each family has their own set of rituals come Christmas time. The traditional Filipino setup tends to involve the noche buena feast starting precisely at midnight followed by the opening of the gifts and such. In our family there's the early dinner, the weird delays before everyone can open presents and then everyone off to bed by midnight.

But apart from the Christmas Eve festivities, what is always "traditional" for us is to play games. We've always been one of those families who are into games - I guess it was one way to nurture competitive instincts in all of us kids. So we've had a rich history of board games, card games and whatnot. And given that my sister actually gave board games as presents, gaming has really become inevitable this year.

We're crazy competitive, but it's all still fun. It's no wonder why I'm so into games. And it also explains why Monopoly is so traumatizing. I have never won a Monopoly game when my dad is involved. It's a family tradition.