The formal part of the family reunion starts in the evening. About 60 relatives gather at the family home for dinner, dancing and fun for the kids. The night begins with prayers and a welcome by Linda’s sole remaining Angeles uncle in Davao, Ador, and then dinner. The only other sibling of Tatay is Uncle Nonoy who lives in the US.
After dinner there is dancing. Someone has hired four dance instructors (DIs) so the good dancers are happy to have a good partner to perform with and the poor dancers have no option but to take lessons.
For the children, the highlight of the evening is next. The adults take turns to sit wearing a vaguely Santa outfit (a hat will do) and the children queue. Santa then asks each child a question (such as “How old are you?”) and upon receiving a correct answer a small monetary reward is handed over. This continues until the money is exhausted, and then the next adult takes over. By the end of the night the kids are happy and moderately wealthy.
The children being quite happy by this time are willing to perform with dancing or singing. Parents give much encouragement and in some cases coaching from the sidelines.
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