When there wasn’t any talk about a friend Christmas party this year, Elise and I decided to co-host one at our house. We sent the evite expecting about half of the 30ish people to come. We were more than thrilled to find out that nearly everybody on the list was able to make it! I guess everyone was as in need of Christmas cheer as I was. It seems like this year, there’s hardly been time to listen to Christmas music, and I didn’t even get to attend the ward Christmas party, so I really needed this party to bring that Christmasy feeling.
Planning and preparing for a party when you have kids is quite different than when you don’t. A couple years ago, if you’ll recall, we had a similar Christmas party at our house, and it was all I really had to think about, since we didn’t have kids yet. This year, I had to fit in the preparations around the babies’ schedule. There is only so much you can do when the kids are awake. But somehow, the day was not rushed at all, the kids loved the new living room set-up, keeping them occupied and happy, leaving me free to prepare as needed. They were delightful little children all day. And since it was Saturday, KC was home to play, which kept me in a good, festive mood. Oh, and I got a nap. Bonus.
We made it more of an adult party this year, unlike last time. Sometimes it’s fun doing it earlier and involving kids, but I knew it wouldn’t be so fun for me if my kids were awake to destroy everything, and constantly demanding my attention, so adults-only it was, with the exception of a few cute babies. It was pretty low-maintenance, only planning a couple of games, including a classic White Elephant/Yankee Swap. There are always a couple hot items. This year the poinsettias, a jumbo bag of peanut butter m&ms, and an Atari game. Yeah, the guys were having a good time with that one. 
A lot of our friends have moved out of the ward, but are still in the area, so it was sort of a reunion for all of us to see each other, and catch up on the latest. When you live away from you family, your friends become a kind of family, so it was so great to be with so many people we have grown to know so well.
All the food was great, the company was even better, and the best part for me, besides hanging out with my awesome friends, was that the babies, though practically in the middle of the party with their room being so close to the action, slept through the entire thing. I was so proud of my little ones, since I was a little apprehensive about how they would react to the inevitable noise. But I put my worries about that to the side and let myself enjoy the party. They also slept though the entire night (they are still a little messed up from all the sicknesses so this is exciting) which was greatly appreciated, since we didn’t actually get to sleep until after 12:30.
It may have taken us about three days to get the kitchen cleaned and all the dishes done, and the furniture is still all against the wall, which the kids love. It was just a great way to embrace and enjoy the season. We’re simply having a wonderful Christmas time.
4 comments:
We had so much fun. It was just what we needed to keep the Christmas spirit going. Thanks for the great times!
That was a really great party. Thank you SO much for hosting and doing the dishes after. We had a blast
Looks like a blast. Way to go on a successful party! And way to go, babies, for sleeping so well.
YAY! I'm glad you did it and that it was a success. Your party was almost as big as ours this year! Jane slept through mine too, but we pretty much "forgot" to put the boys to bed that day, so they stayed up watching TV until 1 a.m.!!! good times.
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