we went to grandma karen & grandpa wayne's ward christmas party. the theme was "mele kalikimaka {hawaiian for "merry christmas" which is where aunt mele got her name...being that the day of her birth is 4 days shy of christmas}." it was a luau. we had pork, sticky rice, fruit salad and sweet bread. and for dessert they served pinneapple upside down cake. the kids ran around with their old friends and we had a good time hawaiian style. in hawaii, santa rides on a surf board, which is pulled by seahorses...there's no sleigh.
grandpa wayne did an awesome job reading the hawaiians version of "twas the night before christmas" to the kids. he had the perfect pidgen accent."was da nite befo' christmas":
Wuz da nite befo' Christmas an' from hea to Wailuku,
No creetcha wuz stirrin' not even one uku.
Da Keikis wen snuggle down safe in da beds,
Big dreams of tofuti wen dance roun' da heads.
An' me wid my Primo an' Ma wid her poi,
We jus' settle down fo' one rap, - when oh Boy!
One awful big clatter come from da lanai,
I tink maybe coconuts wen fall from da sky.
I wen jump up so fas' I knock ova da chaia
I wen run to da windo to see what stay dea.
All ova da beach da kine silva moonlight
On da sand an' da sea it shinin' so bright,
I can see all da tings on da sho' plenty clea,
An' I see sumting out dea dat stay mo' plenty quea!
One tiny surfboard lyin' der on da groun
'An' eight tiny sea horses jus' swimmin' aroun
'An' one little ol surfer so lively, so quick,
-I wen tink to myself, "Ey, brah! Dat Saint Nick!
"He wuz chubby an' jolly, da kine roly poly,
An' dressed all in fur fro da chin to okole.
He had one white beard an' one little roun' belly
Dat went shake when he laugh like Tutu's guava jelly.
He wastin' no time, brah, he wen put down da sack
Dat wuz big as one mountain slung up on his back.
He got plenty good tings for all da keiki
An' he wen pile dem unda da coconut tree.
He work an' he work an' he neva pau hana
Til he put someting der fo' all da Ohana.
He wen give me one wink an' one shaka, an' - pau!
Da seahorses dey know it come time to go now!
He wen pick up da board an' he run to da ocean,
He wen harness da team an' he settem in motion.
Mo fasta dan jet planes da seahorses swum
He wen whistle an' shout an' he call 'em each one:
"Go Kimo, Go Noni! Gettum Kipo an' Lani!
Go Kona, go Pua! Geevum Kiki an' Nani"
To da cres of da wave, tru da foam an' da spray,
Dey swimmin' like crazy, dey flyin' away!
Til all I wen see on da wata out fa,
Wuz one twinkle of light like one dyin' out star.
But I hea ol Nick holla Across da dark sea,
"Merry Christmas, da kine, Aloha Hawai`i!"
santa visited, hawaiian shirt and all yelling "alo-ho-ho-ho-ha!"the kids visited with him and he handed out candy lei's. i remember getting them all the time as a child. they were my favorite. 
grandma karen danced to the song "maile lei." i love watching her dance. she's still got it! she seriously is so gracefull when she moves. tills wanted to run up on the stage to her, and quincy and cons pulled their chairs right up to the front of the stage. it was like my mom was dancing just for them. she'd look right at them throughout the dance and smile. reminded me so much of my wedding. 
we sang "mele kalikimaka," and other christmas songs to a ukulele and then watched the reflections of christ slide show presentation. it was an amazing ward party.aloha!
