December Daily {:15:} Party time!

Well, as I write this, my feet are up, the kitchen is clean, and I'm waiting for the mopped floors to dry.  I thought it would take me forever to clean up after the party, but it actually wasn't so bad!  Party was a success!

I got up this morning and made soup in the crockpot, hot punch on the stovetop, cleaned, and then assembled everything all pretty out on the table.  I was putting the final things out when the first guests arrived.

Here's the Frosty the Snowman Cheeseball.  Oh my goodness so cute.  

The veggie tray was designed to look like a Christmas tree.  Seriously, I can't handle the cuteness.  I was going to make penguins out of black olives and cream cheese, but ran out of time.  It's probably just as well, or I might have keeled over dead from the cute.

The spread.  TOO MUCH FOOD.  I might have gone a little overboard.  But I had fun doing it.

After hanging out for awhile and talking, we played Dirty Santa.  None of my non-American friends had played before, so I had to explain how to play.  (Yesterday, *Amy showed me the gift she'd bought for the game--a really nice pair of earrings.  She said she couldn't understand giving a gift that was weird, or ugly, or useless, so she didn't bring a "white elephant" gift but pretty earrings, because that's what she'd want to get.  I laughed and said, "Well, your gift will make the game much more fun!)

(Sidebar: I was a lousy photographer today.  I apologize.  Some photos came out so blurry that I had to delete them.  And after the game, I got caught up in the party and forgot to take any more photos.  Oops.  Well, I was supposed to be having fun with my friends, and that's what I did!)

The first present being opened...

A plate, a small vase, and a bag of cinnamon chips.  Would C end up keeping her gift?  Wait and see...

S opening her gift...

The pretty earrings!  I thought she'd be thrilled to get something so pretty.  But she said C got more things than she did, so she traded the earrings for the plate, vase, and chips.  C seemed pretty happy about that...

Thecamelridingcowgirl went for the smallest package...perhaps hoping for another set of earrings?

This is her "what is it?" face...

A little Santa boy with broken hands.  Oh man.  A true white elephant gift.  Well played, whoever brought that!

Thecamelridingcowgirl was not about to hold on to a broken dust-collector when there were pretty earrings to be had.  Poor C... She couldn't seem to hold on to her gift for anything!

I was next and opened this bizarre little guitar thing...which happens to be PERFECT to hold up my iPhone.  An iPhone stand!  Great!  I chose not to trade.  (I knew thecamelridingcowgirl wanted those earrings...)

K opened up next...

And got a cute plush bunny rabbit.  She seemed enthralled and I thought she might keep it, but oh no...

She wanted the plate, vase and chips!  Sorry S, you get the bunny!  Good thing you have a little daughter who might like it!

Dee was next.  She opened a gift and realized it was homemade cookies.

She held it up for everyone and told them that they could not trade from her!  She was so happy to have homemade cookies.  (Um...the table is FULL of them!  Hehe.)

Next came Amy.  She took the last present on the table.

Oh man.  I am so bummed that this photo came out blurry.  This was the gift that I bought.  It is the most atrocious jug you've ever seen in your LIFE.  Seriously.  Terrible.  It has a photo of mountains with some elk glued on it.  And then painted all over it are stumps of logs.  It's just so ugly.  I loved it.  Amy did not.

She looked around the room at all the choices and finally said that she'd like to have the plate, vase, and chips.

It was a popular gift.  We had set a three-trade limit, so it couldn't be traded anymore.

C, being the first to go (and thus not having had a chance to trade), ended out the game with one final trade.  She looked around, and I really thought she was going to go for those earrings.  But to the shock of everyone, she took the JUG!  She actually liked it!

She thought it was pretty and artistic, and said she likes the mountains, so she liked the photo on it.  Okay.  Wow.  I never expected that.  (thecamelridingcowgirl whispered to me later that if she had ended up with that monstrosity, it would have ended up under my pillow before she left the house.)

Some more friends came later so we actually continued the game for them.  S ended up leaving the bunny here for me, and going home with some pretty pens and hair clips for her young daughter.  But like I said, I forgot to take any more photos...

It was a fun evening.  It wasn't at all how I expected the party to go when I first started planning it, but that's okay.  I had fun and so did my friends.  They took a bunch of food with them, and I managed to get most of the rest into the freezer.  I'll take a bunch around tomorrow to some homeless people.  Since I leave on Wednesday, I don't need the leftovers here.

The kitchen wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be...

Two more days until vacation!  Can't wait.  All of a sudden, I'm plum tuckered out...