My name is Dee and I'm going to tell you the story of the Fornicola Christmas Eve. 

At the time of this writing, I am 49 years old and have been attending the Christmas Eve Celebration my entire life!  It is absolutely my favorite night of the whole year.  

If you ask any of our family members they will say the same.  Hopefully, one day you will say the same too!

Gathering on Christmas Eve has been a family tradition for 65  years.  My Great-Grandmother Rose Fornicola started this tradition.  Rose passed the torch of hosting to her daughter Rose Amelia Fornicola Sauer and her husband Jack Sauer.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, 

descendants of the Fornicolas were just hanging out... 

Their ages, they ranged, from more than 80  to just about 6...

adding fun to the holiday mix!

We had all of the cherished traditions by far

the newest was VJ's Sambuva bar

The fruitcake was there dating back to God knows when,

 somebody said Rose Sauer tried to eat in again..

The Asti was flowing, the fish had arrived

the ornament exchange was going on inside...

There were laughter and smiles as we all crammed in the room

 as Bobby G took 15 minutes to get the camera to zoom...

Excerpt from XMAS INVITE INVITE OF 2009

So, what is the Christmas Eve tradition all about?  Well, it is the one night a year that our family prioritizes getting together.  It is rare a family member misses Christmas Eve because everyone puts a lot of importance on it.

{As your narrator, I can share that when I accepted my marriage proposal, one stipulation was that Christmas Eve would always been celebrated with the Fornicola Family}

Historically, the majority of the Christmas Eve's were hosted by Rose and Jack Sauer.   In the early years, we had Christmas Eve at their apartment at Brighten Arms in Neptune.

Later on, we spent many a Christmas Eve's at 124 Grand Ave in Long Branch, NJ.

After hosting for many years, Rose and Jack felt like they needed to pass the torch.  For a few years, all the cousins took turns hosting.  Eventually Bobby and I became the regular hosts.  We have been hosting since 2012!

We know that before Rose and Jack Sauer hosted on a regular basis that Christmas Eve was also hosted on a smaller scale by Mary & Mike Arcangelo.

We host at our home in Fair Haven.  The house isn't very big but that never seems to matter.   Bobby took on the role of taking the "group picture" many years ago.  The family enjoys giving him a hard time during the process but everyone loves the result...a beautiful group picture commemorating our time together

Say cheese!

This was one the first photos Bobby took on Christmas Eve at Rose & Jack's home!

The family mingles, eats and drinks.  We feast on cheeses, calamari, fried mozzarella, ziti, "the 7 fishes," sausage & peppers, "Tuzzio Salad", chicken parmesan and more...

The laughter and loud voices echo throughout the house. It is heart-warming to see generations laughing and catching up.

  It is almost like no time has passed since the Christmas Eve before.   

Besides food, there is lots of "spirits,"  VJ designs a new Sambvca Fountain every year.  Seeing the new design and taking a drink from the fountain is a fun part of the night!     Asti Spumante has also been a popular drink!

            Another fun tradition is "stealing the fruitcake." 

Aunt Rose loved fruitcake.  So, many years ago a fruitcake was put out in front of her, to her delight! She was all ready to eat it but was distracted for a moment and in that instant the fruitcake disappeared.  She was quite perturbed but played along with the game! Every Christmas Eve since, the children have helped to steal the fruitcake before she gets a chance to eat it.   

***Can you find the fruitcake hidden in the pages in this book?

pictures

There it is the fruitcake that appears each year but disappears before it can be eaten!

Look at Marcus sneaking the fruitcake in front of Aunt Rose while she is distracted!

One of the best things about Christmas Eve is that we get to catch up with our family.  The night is full of love & holiday spirit! It is the best night of the year!!!

It is a night full of good times and good food!

                       Traditions of the night:

An ornament exchange.  Everyone brings  a wrapped ornament and we toss them in a basket and all take one at the end of the night.  

Traditions Continued...

Everyone brings extra cookies to share and take home. 

In the last 20 years, we have also started to include party favors.  Sometimes they just commemorate the year and other times they are dedicated to someone.

*The kids all wear matching pajamas