Christmas Parties

Last night was our 3rd Annual Christmas Party!

Chukani and Pat welcomed our friends and family over to our house(s) for the evening. Lots of food and drinks, yummy desserts, and a fun Christmas Ornament Exchange for everyone. There were about a dozen kids, and they had a blast playing in the back yard with the puppy, and then headed to the front yard to play freeze-tag among all the christmas lights... once they finaly settled down, they decorated foam Christmas trees and watched The Grinch (old-school animated version) and Frosty the Snowman. The grown-ups had fun eating, drinking and generally being merry. (There were even a few grown ups participating in the freeze-tag too!)

I've realized over the last decade or so that I really love hostessing parties. All aspects- from the planning to facilitating the actual event. I enjoy the planning a lot- coming up with a menu, deciding on theme decorations, and making sure to have fun activities for kids and grown-ups alike. And once it's all planned, I like to cook, bake, decorate, create and make everything happen. Oh sure, there are always lots of changes and modifications to the vision along the way, but that's just part of the process I think.

Once the guests arrive, it's important to me that everyone feels welcome and taken care of, so I usually spend more time during the party making introductions and encouraging people to have something to eat/drink than I do actually sitting down and hanging out with everyone. At the party last night, it wasnt until the end of the evening that I realized I hadn't finished either of the two sodas I'd poured for myself, or even finished the plate of food I'd set down somewhere. But I was having so much fun making sure others were having fun, it didn't matter.

I know I'm a perfectionist in a lot of ways... (which is a struggle for me) and planning a party is fun for me because I get to control a lot of the variables. But parties can also be a challenging and growing experience for me- because sometimes I have to learn to just let go, and let things happen naturally during the party without forcing it. For example, I'd worked hard to plan out a christmas tree craft for the kids last night, because I knew there would be over a dozen kids of all ages and I wanted them to have a little structure to the evening (so they wouldnt tear the house apart!!) But the weather was mild, so they all wanted to play outside. And then they ate while watching Frosty. Then it was time for the ornament exchange, and I was thinking to myself... "well, maybe we'll just skip the craft, and save it for next year... no one seems interested."

I had to just go with the flow. Luckily once the kids gathered in the back room for another movie- I saw the opportunity and quickly gathered all the trees and stickers and glitter and glue and plopped it all down in the middle of the floor. My original (perfectionist!) vision had been to have a table set up for 4 kids at a time to make the craft, in an orderly, organized fasion. uh- yeah, not so much! My expectations were seriously not in touch with reality! But what ended up happening was so much more fun for the kids, and didn't cause a huge mess like I had thought it might (glitter vacuums up very nicely!) so I was very happy with how it all turned out, and I think the kids really enjoyed themselves.

I had also planned to sing some christmas carols with everyone, even going so far to spend time over the summer typing up a caroling packet with lyrics to every Christmas Carol I know- 11 pages worth! Yet again- I had to relax and go with the mood of the party... Last year we caroled and it was a really special time. (Althought I do have to mention the guys all headed over to the other side of the duplex!) But last night no one seemed interested, and that was just fine. I feel like having the party every year I am getting better at sensing what's needed to ensure everyone enjoys themselves. One of my dear friends Steph totally blessed me by cleaning up all the food leftovers and doing the dishes (even running my dishwasher!) at the end of the evening. I could hardly believe it, and can't thank her enough.

The best part of last night was getting to see everyone. Some of Chuck's family I haven't seen in nearly a year, I'm so glad they came over. And my new boss and co-workers came so I enjoyed introducing them to everyone. It's neat to see everyone and just enjoy good times together. It makes all the hard work getting the house ready worth it. Please don't think I did this on my own- far from it. Chuck and Pat put in long hours cleaning and setting up for sure! Pat and I had several planning sessions and shopping trips over the last several weeks. It's fun to share the experience with her. I surely appreciate the wisdom of experience she adds to the process. and a keen eye for a good bargain!

The only thing that would have made the night more special would have been if all our family and friends out-of-state had been able to join us. I'm hoping that next year Chuck and I can travel to see family over the holidays, I'm really missing my fam in CA this year, and I know we'd love to see his family in Utah too. Wherever you are- know you are loved!

I totally forgot to take any pictures during the party last night, but I just went and snapped a couple photos in my living room of our tree, and a couple wall-hangings my mom quilted for me 2 years ago.

Merry Christmas!!!