The Political Landscape:

Each Christmas Eve, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore joins what he calls “a quiet brotherhood” of men out shopping at the last minute for their wives.

“They kind of give each other the secret knowing glance,” DeVore said. “It’s that brotherhood of procrastination.”

Hectic holiday shopping isn’t the only holiday tradition in the DeVore household. The assemblyman said family has made it a yearly Thanksgiving and Christmas custom to invite friends who don’t have anywhere else to go during the holidays over for a late lunch.

Like DeVore, County Supervisor John Moorlach said he still has some last-minute shopping to do, but the holidays are mostly an opportunity to “take a little time off to rest at home,” he said.

Each year, Moorlach spends Christmas Eve with his parents and siblings and then has a Christmas at home with his wife and two sons.

Other lawmakers experience the holidays as an extended party-hopping session.

Assemblyman Van Tran, who says he’s been busy with holiday parties since the beginning of the month, will continue to brave his busy schedule as Christmas Day approaches.

“There’s one tonight at the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce, on the 23rd I have a Christmas party with my in-laws and one with my parents on the 24th,” he said. “You got to spread the love around!”

Politicos can often be overwhelmed by their high-speed party regimen, Tran said — all sorts of invitations pour in, forcing state officials to keep their tuxedos pressed for most of the month.

“You kind of have to watch what you eat, because you can gain a lot of weight this time of the year,” he joked.

But, Tran’s holiday isn’t all about wheelings-and-dealings — the assemblyman’s office has also teamed up with AT&T to donate 300 long-distance cards to California National Guards stationed in the Middle East, packed with 100 free minutes for a Christmas call home.

State Sen. Tom Harman, on the other hand, said he was looking forward to a calm Christmas at home with the Mrs. He hosted 150 people at a holiday party in his Huntington Beach home last Friday.

“It’s the first time in probably 20 years that our adult children will not be able to join us for the holiday,” he said. “So, we’re going to have a quiet Christmas this year.”