More than 650 military families that had members on deployment last December gathered in Murphy Canyon Monday for the sixth annual "Christmas You Missed" event.

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The three-hour event at the San Diego Armed Services YMCA included Christmas trees, snow, craft activities, cookie decorating and other holiday fare, according to organizers.

Thousands upon thousands of San Diego-based troops were deployed last Christmas.

Last Friday, more than 3,800 sailors and Marines returned to San Diego from a seven-month deployment. They are part of Camp Pendleton's 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious ready group led by the USS Makin Island.

The guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay, along with guided-missile destroyers USS Dewey, USS Kidd, USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Pinckney, returned from a seven-month deployment in February. And the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey returned after nearly six months away in May.