Christmas Party

Saturday night was our annual Christmas party with our sunday school class. (I was going to write s.s. class because the words sunday school make me feel like I'm 6 again, but s.s. sounds a bit Nazi-ish so we'll stick with the former.) As stated in the previous post, we host everyone at our house for the potlucks to end all potlucks with everyone bringing their signature dish. Terri's ham, Dan with any kind of beef, Kristi's pineapple stuffing, Faith's mac and cheese, Pam's vegetables, Ashley's chocolate dessert, you get the idea. So. Much. Food.

And after eating we gather 'round the family room for the "gift" exchange. The only rule is that it should be no more than $5 so it usually ends up being crap that's lying around your house that you want to get rid of. You have your obligatory scented candles and your stuffed animals, etc. The ones that get the laughs like the fart machine, the Toasty Wrap (a generic snuggie), the garden gnome (which has a long and storied past that I won't go into detail here but his fame spreads far and wide clear down to Florida...hey Aytons!), and of course..."The Head." I've gotta add that the biggest laugh was a few years ago when Ashley pulled out of a gift bag this gigantic rack of deer horns and as she was holding it up and looking it over with a very curious stare, Faith yells out, "Nice rack, Ashley!"

But anyway..."The Head" is this seriously ugly speckled ceramic head that Rob found years ago when cleaning out a deserted building at our church property. (I know...really.) This thing has been passed around for years and nobody wants to pick up a heavy box or gift bag for fear that you've now inherited "The Head".

Well, it was Phil's turn to pick a gift and he got a bit concerned with how heavy it was. But as he tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box out came a sign that stated, "A Wonderful Dinner for Two." The next sign, "Step 1 Use this rub on some beef, chicken, or pork. Slap it on the grill and cook it how you like." Cool...he'd gotten the gift from Dan who is famous in these parts for his homemade bbq sauce and his prowess on the grill. Next sign, "Step 2 Use this BBQ sauce to complete the meal and make it delicious!" All right! Final sign with a tealight candle taped to it, "Step 3 Light the candle, put it under "The Head" and enjoy the romance." Aw man...That's right. Underneath all the tissue paper was "The Head". So now begins the creative thinking in order to disguise it in next year's exchange.

The gift that was fought over the most? Two tickets for a dinner of wings over at Bud and Paula's house to watch an Eagles game with them. And this is quite the experience if you've never been with Bud during an Eagles game. There are pre-game songs, the jumping on the couch for a touchdown dance, the Eagles fight song with arms flapping like wings, and the volume...oh, the volume. You will never see or hear anything like it. And it was a hot item.

Bobby and Emily added a new game this year that was bit like Taboo and then ends in charades. I'll just say that thanks to Kristi, "Herbie the Elf" will now become a tradition that will be passed for years to come.

The party ended a bit before midnight but my "party" is still going on. One more tradition that started years ago? As people leave, some hide the "gifts" that they don't want (ie the crap) in places all over my house so for days I find little treasures everywhere. Darn you, Rob.