Every year all of my cousins get together around the holidays for “Cousin’s Dinner.” My brother hosts in his apartment in Chinatown that previously was my grandparents and this year Cousin’s Dinner was on New Year’s Eve.
We had lot’s of amazing Ruinart champagne to celebrate the new year. This is one of my favorites.
I made a beef tenderloin for the first time and it turned out delicious.
We also ate pizza, Popeye’s, and lots of snacks.
My younger (and only) brother helped me cook the beef tenderloin.
He went to the French Culinary Institute and even though he doesn’t cook professionally, he always makes my recipes taste a little bit better.
My little one was with us and she was the only kiddo so we kept her company along with the iPad.
I make everyone take a group photo. We take a proper photo and also a silly one. Can you tell which one this is?
We had a grand New Year’s toast at midnight.
Then pulled out the noise-makers.
My little one and cousin Karyn had fun blowing them into Grouchy Husband’s face.
And into his ears.
My newest cousin Nadya is from Russia and even though she wasn’t with us because she and my cousin were in Russia with her family, some of us followed her Russian custom of writing a wish on paper, burning it, and drinking the ashes.
It was fun. Some of the ashes were big to drink.
Another memorable Cousin’s Dinner in the books. Growing up I spent all holidays, Chinese New Year, Mother and Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc, with my cousins. It’s nice to add Cousin’s Dinner to the list.
Wishing You all a Happy and Healthy New Year,
Chrissy xo
I love this picture of my husband’s aunt and her granddaughter in their curlers.
In Brooklyn, we took a cousins (and spouses) photo.
And here are all our kiddies.
The holidays are also all about food and fine wine. 
I really wanted to learn to make a crown pork roast and enough people were around this holiday season for me to practice and eat 
For winter break, we drove 5.5 hours north to 
The girls went to the indoor water park the first two days and had a great time. Unfortunately, Princess and Grouchy Husband came down with the stomach virus and Baby developed a terrible cough. I think it was from the water park.
The snow was great the first half of our trip. It even snowed the first day we were out. Unfortunately, the weather got very warm and rained. It ended up working out ok because the girls and Grouchy Husband were not feeling well by then. Jay Peak kept the tram to the top of the mountain from the original local resort. We waited almost an hour to ride it, the view was beautiful. When the snow was good and everyone was feeling well Baby spent two days in snow school and then she rode the lift and trails with us the rest of the time. Jay Peak will always have a special place in our heart because it was the first mountain we rode as a family.
They started off setting up and reviewing their strategy.
Coach Manny, head coach and owner, at our gym, 
The workout started with 60 clean and jerks for the team to finish.
Then 60 thrusters.
Then 60 pull-ups.
The guys took turns to chip away at the total reps for each movement and give each other a rest.
Then 60 burpees. The team that finished with the fastest time got most points.
It was a super hard workout.
Super super hard. But they gave it their all! Stefano was such a great and supportive partner! It was an amazing fight to the finish.
Fifi’s troupe has a lot of members organizing, performing, drumming. They all wore the same jackets.
We watched them setup.
And stack these red wooden benches that Fifi in the lion costume would jump onto.
A Chinese Association paid to have the lion dance performance in front of their building. They strung oranges, lettuce, and red envelopes for the lion to reach for good luck. The lion would put the lettuce in its mouth and then spit it out to symbolize spreading good luck and a fresh start.
Here is a photo of the lions spitting out lettuce at the Lunar New Year Family Festival at 
There was a great crowd. I was nervous for him to jump up onto the red benches. Fifi had nerves of steel.
These would be the performing lions.
The performance started with the lions walking down the street to the front of the Chinese Association building.
The Laughing Buddha came to tease the lion with a fan and make it jump, roll, and lay down. The Buddha climbed up a pole and cut down the oranges, lettuce, and red envelopes to feed to the lion.
Then did some acrobatics for the crowd.
The lion dance performance was awesome.
We saw another performance earlier in the day and the lion was on stilts and unraveled a scroll with a message of good luck.
I’ve seen so many lion dances and always impressed with the athleticism and skill. It’s one of my favorite parts of Chinese New Year.
Christmas Eve was also the first night of Hannukah. It was special to watch Uncle Mark and Aunt Bernice’s family light the first candle of the menorah and say a blessing.
The girls played high-stakes backgammon with Cousin Jill and Scott.
They also decorated their 7th gingerbread house of the season.
We stayed one night in the Berkshires, came home, unpacked, took showers, got dressed, let the girls open the rest of their presents from Grouchy Husband and I, and then drove to Brooklyn to celebrate Christmas with my family. It was a busy day.
My 9 cousins and I use to take a photo each year in from of the Christmas tree. We can hardly see the tree now. Our families has grown a bit.
My sister and her family came into town the day after Christmas.
My mom hosted a dinner that night and invited my grandmother and the rest of her family to celebrate another Christmas.
There were more presents to open. This is 3 consecutive days of present opening for the girls and it was as exciting as the first.
We also celebrated my uncle, grandmother, and brother-in-law’s birthdays.
Our 4th Christmas was with my sister-in-law’s family. And if you were wondering, yes, there was present opening.