Wrapping Up The Christmas Party

I feel somehow that I cannot post about anything else running around in my brain until I play-by-play the small group Christmas party from Saturday night. Probably I feel a certain expectation from the rest of the group to rewrite it for posterity's sake. And probably they have no expectation. But here it goes anyway.

I was late. I meant to be early because I learned long ago that (say it with me band folks)

To be early is to be on time
To be on time is to be late
And to be late is to be running laps.

Now I doubt Dave and Christine had plans to make me run laps around the house, but I really do know how to be on time for a party. It wasn't my fault I was late. It was Michael's. He picked me up at work at 5:30. I was dressed and ready to go, but he suddenly couldn't find the Oreo truffles I'd slaved over the day before. I didn't know what we'd do with 30+ truffles that didn't make it to the party so instead of heading north to the party, we went west toward home.

But the truffles weren't in the refrigerator either. He came back outside to check the backseat and the trunk a second time. No truffles. Back in the house. No truffles. A third check of the car turned up a container of truffles in the backseat under a blanket. Uh-hmmm.

So we were late. But it snowed as we drove and at least it was pretty.

Christine's kitchen island was full of appetizers and wines. A party was definitely getting started. Folks were all gussied up and greeting each other as if it'd been a year since they'd last seen each other. In some cases it had. Ahem. (Did I just write that?)

As the last guests arrived, we began to set out the pans of food catered by an area restaurant called Pasta Luna. And this is where it all got interesting. With the lids on, we believed there would be plenty. With the lids off, we knew we'd been gypped. The restaurant claimed two pans would be plenty. One tray had about 15 small pieces of chicken, and the other had about 15 round raviolis. There were 22 people at the party. Pretty much you either got two bites of chicken or one ravioli. Your choice. Some people had half a ravioli. Oh and the salad - 5 lettuce strips per person. The crowd was somewhere between devastated and riotous. Those poor hungry guys came into the kitchen devouring everything they laid eyes on, from the bread bowl to the decorative parsley.

Luckily we didn't cater dessert. That's where I come in to save the party. (Hey now- it's my blog and I can tell it how I want to.) I pulled out my Black Forest Trifle dish and topped it with cherries and shaved chocolate. We moved the empty dinner pans and set the trifle next to my plate of Oreo truffles and a pecan pie. Dessert on a full stomach is just dessert. But dessert on an empty one is scrumptious perfection. And that, my friends, is what I provided. (I don't care if I'm overdoing it - it's my blog!) Those boys came back to the table with their dessert plates loaded. And more than one asked for the recipe. No exaggeration.

Our Christmas party is about more than the food, though. (Thank goodness, this year.) We enjoy celebrating the year we've had together and making each other laugh with quick witted sassy comments. We played a simplified version of the newlywed game that we renamed 'The Not So Newlywed Game'. It was hysterically funny, and took forever to play. Eleven couples worth of funny answers and smart-alek asides makes for a long game! But the best part about playing that game, is that no matter how long we've been friends and how many times we've played the game, we still leave knowing more than we cared to and with a new perspective on our friends. I love it!

As babysitting costs mounted, many couples needed to head home. Clean up was quick and easy thanks to Chinette and plastic cups. Michael and I pretended to pack up, and even loaded the car, but when everyone was gone, we snuck in some much missed visiting time with the Dave and Christine. I caught my second wind and with conversation flowing so easily, it was nearly one AM when we merged onto 95 South.

I am convinced there is no one more blessed by a group of friends than me. To say I 'love' my small group is weak. They are as close as family. I have often referred to them as my other brothers and sisters. I treasure them fiercely and look forward to all our times together.

May 2009 bring us closer than ever and may God bless us and keep us, locked mightily in His tender embrace!