After November has passed, it is finally snowing as Rose and the Snack Pack came to her apartment after flying through the snow. She is dressed in a pink sweater with a matching fur-collared jacket, thick pants, snow boots, matching gloves, and earmuffs. She entered, carrying lots of ingredients, and placed them on the table. She took off her jacket, snow boots, gloves, and earmuffs and put on her slippers.
"Wow, all this buying really tired me out." Rose panted.
"My family are going to have Noche Buena here in the apartments." Branch said.
"Same with my family, only I'm far away from them." She sighed.
"You miss them, don't ya?" Biggie asked her.
"Yeah, my family is very close-knit." Rose answered. "We celebrate Christmas the longest in my home country."
"How do you celebrate Christmas with your family?" Satin asked.
"We would sing Christmas carols, have a huge feast, have Christmas parties, and we have rice cakes to eat." She answered. "It's a huge reunion when my family comes together with my relatives to have fun."
"Same." Branch added.
"Wow, it really is a huge deal for you." Guy said.
"We can make your Christmas the most memorable of the year." Poppy said. "I mean, it is your first time celebrating it here."
"You're also gonna love tamales as well." Branch smirked.
"What are tamales?" Rose asked.
"Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish made with a corn-based dough mixture that is filled with various meats or beans and cheese." Branch explained. "Tamales are wrapped and cooked in corn husks or banana leaves, but they are removed from the husks before eating. Try them served with pico de gallo on top and a side of guacamole and rice."
"Wow, you also have favorite Christmas food as well!" She said.
"We all love turkey for Christmas but we also have specific foods we love to eat for the holiday season." Poppy said.
"I love eating Christmas pudding." Biggie piped up.
"I love the sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries, we wait for dessert every Christmas to get a piece of it." Satin said.
"But I always get the bigger one." Chenille smugged.
"Even though you wouldn't celebrate Christmas with your family, you can still celebrate it with us." Poppy said.
"Aww, thanks guys." Rose cried.
Suddenly, Branch heard his cellphone ring. He picked up the phone and got a call from his aunt Victoria.
"Bernardo, mi nino." She said. "Everything is ready for the tamalada?"
"Si, tiya." He answered.
"Your abuelita and everybody else in your familia will be here to join you all in the tamalada." She said. "Oh, your tiyo will be here with all the masa we are bringing."
"Okay, love ya tiya." Branch answered and the call ended.
"Wow, I thought Rosiepuff is your abuela?" Rose asked.
"I have another abuela, whom I call abuelita." Branch answered. "She and Rosiepuff are childhood friends and they love each other no matter what so I grew up with one abuela and two abuelos."
"That makes sense." DJ Suki nodded.
A doorbell rang and Rose answered the door. It was Branch's entire family. They are entirely monarch butterfly sprites with their colored hair, skin, eyes, and monarch butterfly wings but some of his relatives have straight hair and waves. One of the fairies brought in another fairy who is dressed in a traditional but casual Mexican outfit with her hair tied in a low bun.
"Abuelita, you're here!" Branch said as he hugged the older fairy.
"Bernardo, mi nino, we are so glad to celebrate this holiday with you, and we came prepared." She said as she used her wand to make the sacks of corn masa float into the flat. "And you must be Rosa, Bernardo told us so many things about you mija."
"Gracias, senora." Rose thanked her.
"C'mon, Rose, making Tamales would be so much fun." Branch said as he took her to the table, where everybody is preparing to make tamales.
"Why don't you help us with the tamalada today." She asked Poppy.
"Sure, ma'am." She nodded. "My mom used to make one so we could use her recipe."
"Her tamales is missed so much but we also have our own family recipe for tamales." Abuelita said.
"We could use both recipes to make the tamales together, we could separate them in separate bowls." Poppy agreed.
"So, what is in a tamales?" Rose asked.
"Tamales are a Christmas dish made out of cornflour with filling and wrapped in a corn husk." Poppy answered. "We will need dough, corn husks, and filling. First, we lay out the corn husk, add the masa dough, then, the filling, made out of pork, and some chili Colorado sauce, and wrap them together to be steamed."
"That's great, the tamalada is starting, we're gonna make the tamales!" Abuelita announced.
Immediately, everybody started preparing to make the tamales. Satin and Chenille prepared the masa dough, DJ Suki, Biggie, and Smidge prepare the filling with dried New Mexico chile pepper or Ancho chile, Branch and his cousins prepared strips of pork, chicken, or beef in separate bowls. Then, Guy Diamond mixed them in separate bowls of chili paste in order to make the filling. After they finish the filing and the dough, they are ready to make tamales. One tamale after another, they lay out the corn husk, apply the dough and the filling, and wrap the husk together to be steamed. Everything is good but Rose is looking out the window, feeling so sad.
"What's wrong, mija?" Abuelita asked her.
"It's just that I miss my family back home." She sniffed. "It's been so long when I last saw them every Christmas."
"Rose, you're feeling sad because you miss your family?" Poppy asked her as she flew up to her.
"Yeah, I miss them so much." Rose cried.
"It's alright, mija." Abuelita consoled her. "But at least you let out your homesickness, we could always call your family if we have time."
"Thanks." Rose nodded as she wiped the tears off her eyes.
"And you always have us." Branch said.
Friends
How many of us have them?
Friends
Ones you can depend on
You just call on me brother
When you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
Lean on me
You just might have a problem
That I'll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
Thank you for being a friend
(You know this one)
Travelled down the road and back again
Your heart is true
You're a pal and a confidant
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
Well you would see
The biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say
Thank you for being a friend
Oh you're the best friend
That I've ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
My feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend
"Thanks, guys, but I still feel like something is missing." Rose said.
"Rose, do you miss anything from home that we could make your Christmas better with?" Branch asked her.
"I love singing so much." Rose answered.
"We can have a las posadas." Branch piped up.
"Las Posadas?" Rose wondered.
"We sing together and go door to door." He spoke as he took out a Spanish guitar. "I am prepared for it."
"You'll do that for me?" Rose gasped.
"Yeah, you are our friend and a part of this new family." Poppy said. "You are not alone in this country."
"Oh, thank you so much!" She thanked them as they gathered together for a big hug. Suddenly, they heard a cellphone ring.
Immediately, they put on their winter clothes and started singing while holding candles. From door to door, they sing to the people inside and they get rewarded with candies or money. Their other friends gathered together, joining the Snack Pack and Branch's family for Las Posadas.
Branch:
Vamos, amigos
Welcome to our familia
Singing for you on this Nochebuena
Laughing, dancing
Going door to door
If you give us some dulces
We'll sing more and more
Rose:
A familia includes abuelitos and niños
Ating pamilya, kapitbahay at kaibigan
[Trumpet solo]
All:
Our Navidad is feliz, whatever the weather
Las Posadas are merrier as long as we're together
Back at Rose's apartment, everybody was having fun, dancing, singing, and eating tamales. CJ Suki, Priscilla, and Keith try to hit a piñata, and they receive candies from the older sprites, elves, and other species.
"Feliz Navidad, Rose." Branch greeted her.
"Merry Christmas guys." Rose greeted all of her friends back as they had a group hug. "This is the best Christmas ever, I wish my family would see this."
"We got our Las Posadas recorded and we could send it to you so that your parents can see it." Guy Diamond said.
"Thanks." She thanked them.
Suddenly, someone is knocking on the door. Rose went to open it, revealing Gristle Jr., Bridget, Chad, Todd, and their friends.
"Hi Rose, my limo broke down and it got covered in snow." Gristle said. "Can we spend Christmas with you?"
"Sure, come and join in." Rose replied.
"Let's get this party started!" DJ Suki shouted as she went to her DJ set and started playing.
Then, the party went on as DJ Suki started playing tunes in her turntables, and everybody had a good time.
Branch:
Holiday
Come on! (Bergens: Holiday)
Celebrate! (Bergens: Celebrate)
Poppy:
If we took a holiday
Bridget:
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of life
Everybody now!
All:
It would be
It would be so nice
Poppy and Bridget:
Everybody spread the word
We're gonna have a celebration
All:
All across the world
In every nation
Branch:
It's time for the good times
Forget about the bad times, oh yeah
Poppy, Branch and Bridget:
One day to come together
To release the pressure
All:
We need a holiday
Just one day out of life
It would be
It would be so nice
Holiday
Oh yeah! Oh yeah!
Celebrate
Come on, let's celebrate!
Holiday
Celebrate
We need a holiday!