November/December brings me great joy in the life of Calvin's church community.
Why you ask?
Well, I'm glad you did : )!
Because it's that time of year when I get to plan and execute the BEST event of Calvin's calendar year : )
Oh yes, there are other good events, but THIS ONE is GREAT !! : )
Calvin's annual Christmas Party.
Whoot!!!
This year it took place on Saturday, December 2nd, a week later than usual due to me being part of our Young Adult Retreat (see previous post for that one).
Preparations began in the afternoon.
Here are the tables ready for their settings.
And we even got the gift of snow during the day. : )
The place settings are all done. 73 of them.
An all-time record in attendance. YAHOO!!!
In placing things out there were these two anomolies in the utensil bins. Cute.
The table is set a bit differently than last year but still includes that one important item.
CHOCOLATE!!!! : )
Awaiting our guests.
Name tags this year so we know who we are talking to...or is "whom".
Someone will let me know the correct word here :)
Gift exchange table.
Candles lit, and tree alite.
More candles making our own unique wreath : )
Coffee, hot cider, and punch await our guests as always.
Tables for the food ready to go.
6:00 p.m. arrived and so did our guests.
This year we had 73 persons attend.
The best turnout yet.
That comes with it's joys and
logistical issues as well : )
Let the socializing begin : )
The food cooking away.
We have very good potlucks at Calvin!
Our "younger" folk enjoying the night.
Pastor Craig once again wore his tie and jacket.
The gift exchange table bursting.
And the food coming out for our consumption.
A panoramic shot of all the guests.
At 6:30 p.m. we gathered at our table and began our meal. Last year I did a game before eating, but people were hungry so we switched things around a bit.
And a brief video of how we sounded singing Christmas Carols.
Let the eating begin! : )
Laura borrowed these HUGE slippers complete with working bells : ) Cute.
73 people take a bit of time to get through the potluck line : )
The food was excellent, as always.
After supper, we sang some Carols,
Read the Christmas story in Luke 2 and once again played a game of Christmas Pictionary and sang some more carols.
And set out, but did not yet consume, the desserts.
I enjoy Christmas Pictionary, as I know Rachael does as well : ).
And this group was very competitive and enjoyed it (mostly) as well. : )
Some pics of the interactions.
And a video of one group.
And another group : )
More pics of Pictionary
Then dessert.
After dessert, we rearranged the furniture to be able to fit all 73 of us in a sort of circle :)
No easy feat, but we got 'r done!
Then, it was time for a sort of gift exchange experiment.
With a group this size, you can't do an exchange the usual way. We'd be there till midnight : )
Soooo, after deliberating with my family over several days I came up with this idea.
1. Everyone gets a gift in the circle.
2. Pastor Ron rolls a dice.
For a
1 = everyone passes their gift 1 to the left.
2 = everyone passes their gift 2 to the right.
3 = everyone passes their gift 3 to the left.
4 = everyone passes their gift 4 to the right.
5 = Pastor Ron will call out 8 numbers and those people can steal from anyone in the room with an opened or unopened gift. If they steal an opened gift, the person who is stolen from must open their new gift. If they swap for an unopened gift both people must open their gifts. You can’t steal from the same person twice in one round.
6 = Pastor Ron will call out 8 numbers and they must open their gift if it’s not open.
I will say that this game was a wee bit louder than other years :) but it was within a good time range.
The trick was to not get toooo attached to your gift because many saw them go by many times depending on the dice I rolled. : )
I learned some things from this game which we will incorporate into next year's game D.V.
All in all, though, I think it went ok. Whew.
At the end, we closed with the singing of Silent Night.
A brief listen to us singing.
And then it was time to clean up, which is a spiritual gift I might add : ).
I decided that in addition to using the dishwasher, we'd use the many sinks we have in the kitchen to wash everything.
George and Cherrie took up the task with vigor.
As did others : )
Things went MUCH faster because of this.
Thankfully.
And you wouldn't even have known we were there : )
Another awesome event/evening in the books. Thanks to all who came out, all who helped out, and all who shouted out : )
Till next year D.V.
Whoot!!!!
2 comments:
Excellent pictures portraying that evening of great fun and joy .
THE WHOLE EVENING WAS FIRST RATE! the best dish I tasted was Joycegina's perrogie casserole, yum (must ask for the recipe). Please keep it in December (evening was easier for me to get too). Also I was blessed with a fair amount of assistance from my table mates and a few others. My anxiety level was high when I left which surprised me as I had enjoyed the whole evening. I am alone as usual this Christmas so this December party meant a lot. Thank you.
ps the chocolate was the best and only prize/present I took home! I forgot my leftover hummus - I hope whoever took it home got some enjoyment from it ...
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