Auntie's 70th birthday

In Chinese tradition, it is common to refer to women of your parent's generation as Auntie. The surprise 70th birthday party at my cousin's house (who did an amazing amount of work hosting) we attended was for a real aunt, my mum's older sister, who I was close to growing up as we'd often stay over at her house.

We were recently saddened by the loss of my uncle, and today was the largest family gathering she'd attended since the loss of her husband.

It was a surprise which caught her unawares and it was understandably emotional for her, and the first time she'd seen many of the family since her loss.

She was in incredibly good spirits and seemed very happy at seeing everyone and their generosity in presents. She said in her 70 years she hadn't been this happy before!

As we do at these family gatherings, we got a photo of everyone, which meant breaking out the self timer features in the cameras.

The top photo was the first go, which looked great, but my cousin was worried about the size of his stomach, so retook it. Problem is he looks slimmer in the second photo, but everyone found it hilarious so weren't looking at camera!

Feel free to play spot the difference, while you do think of an older relative and give them a call.