Cousin Alina shows her loot.

 It has become a family tradition that each Christmas Eve my family gathers to make homemade pizza, drink wine and exchange the worst gifts we can find Dirty Santa style. The competition has grown year by year and many of us spend the entire year looking for the best/worse gift to exchange. My sister Maggie always brings home the most blush-worthy (see “Humphrey the Humping Dog” below).   

This year we grilled the pizzas outside instead of waiting in line to stuff our pizza in the oven. Everyone was able to make their pizza the way they wanted it. We set up a pizza bar with sausages, pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms, onions, peppers, olives, spinach, tomatoes, feta, parmesan and mozzarella. My mom always makes a simple pizza with olives, feta, spinach and tomatoes – I have no self-control and I load mine up with everything. The point is, this is a great casual way to make everyone happy!