I can't believe it's December already. Time certainly seems to be moving fast. A couple of weeks ago we held our annual Calvin Christmas Party. We host it at the end of November because we don't want to intrude on other Christmas parties happening in our Congregation. It seems to work out well.
We get between 30 - 40 people each year, and the crowd seems to change as the years progress. This year I also had a new apprentice helping me. Jason is our new chair of Fellowship. I showed him the ropes this year, and he was responsible to select some Christmas games.
Here is Jason setting up tables with me. I use a template each year with slight alterations if necessary.
The end result of our labour. The tables turned out nice once again. Remember, presentation is everything!
Here's where our coffee, hot cider, punch, and a new addition (eggnog spiked with some rum) will be placed.
The eggnog went first BTW. : )
I asked Jason to pose near a table.
He reluctantly did so. : )
Our guests began to arrive at 6:00 pm. They partook of the drinks and began to find a place to seat themselves.
The gifts for the ever popular gift exchange.
We opened with some Christmas Caroling, acapella, and then it was time to feast on the various food creations. I LOVE potlucks! : ) Here is one of our more senior members, Adrian, filling his plate. He was the best dressed person at the party in my opinion. : )
This year we had another contingent of young people come out. Nice to see. Doug and Louise joined them. I think they feel pretty youthfull still. : )
A mixing of the generations. Sarah and Amy with some "older folk." : )
That plate looks pretty full Wilma.
Want to leave some for ME! ?????
We had a contingent of young adults this time around too. Nice to see.
Judy took a fancy to a certain salad dish and wasn't about to let any of it go to waste. That's a pretty big dish, Judy. : )
Over the years we've had different sorts of Christmas games/trivia. I asked Jason to come up with the games portion, and he did a marvelous job. Here are Mel and Ian figuring out what the pictures mean when it comes to titles of Christmas Carols.
Mother and Daughter in law working together to get those titles figured out.
People really got into the games.
Sarah and Amy working hard. Amy looks like she's going to get a headache....and hey, that's my hat Sarah!
I always enjoy the trivia part of our games. I enjoy it, NOT because of the trivia part, but what the game seems to evoke in those who partake of them. EVERY year, no matter what the trivia questions are, I (and now Jason) seem to rattle some feathers. : ) This time was no different.
He was challenged on some thing, and I hope he didn't feel overwhelmed by it. I find it all quite hilarious. Seems that when we don't get the facts straight over the true Christmas story, there are those who challenge.....though not always ending up on the winning side.
You'd be surprised how much we infer into the Christmas story, mostly from the Christmas songs we sing so blindly....very interesting indeed! So....did the angles really sing.....or say......you find out and let me know!
Jeannine (and her fellow helper, whom I don't remember) won the games portion. Her gift? Nice Christmas earings...I dare you to wear those on Christmas day Jeannine...bahahah
After supper, and the games to help us digest things, it was time for dessert. These Christmas tree cookies were made by Christine's children. Nice......
We try to allow time for socializing. A "working" Christmas party, just doesn't seem right. Here Judy and Doug talk...probably about that Christmas trivia game.... : )
Here are Eric and Sonja getting their fudge ready for us to consume. I got an early piece....it was AMAZING!
Our youth sampling the desserts. It was all just soooo good, but hard to decide what to eat.
After dessert it was time to clear away the tables and get settled in for the Christmas gift exchange. There are so many different ways to do this exchange, and we've tried several different ones (just read my previous blog entries to find out). This year we decided to keep it simple. Give everyone a number and when it's called out, that person has the choice to pick from the pile or from another person who has an unwrapped gift.
Adrian had a wonderful time playing this game. He must have gone up 10 times to get a gift, and he used his cane to fend off anyone who wanted to trade with him. It was so much fun to watch.
Sandy got a great gift. That container holds fudge made by Sonja. Too bad he didn't end up with that gift...... : (
Kevin is trying to figure out whether to pick this gift or another. This was a set of very nice Dutch cheese spreaders...I bet it was from Adrian.... : )
After the gift exchange it was time to clean up. Everyone helped with that, thankfully, and we were out by 10 pm. Thanks to all who came. It wouldn't have been a fun night without you....see you again next year. D.V.
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