We made it through one more December
milestone yesterday. Our annual Seaside
Christmas party that is held at our house seemed to go off without too many
hitches. Actually I’m not sure I would
recognize a hitch when talking about this gathering. It is kind of like controlled semi-chaos
where folks of all ages come together for a night of fun.
We started out as people arrived by eating,
of course. And the eating continued
throughout the evening, as Chris’ chili slowly disappeared, along with the
Christmas goodies brought by the thirty or so participants. I had a taste of Chris’ cheese ball, and some
of the taquitos. Not sure who brought
those, but please know you and your taquitos are invited again next year. Everything else looked really good. And by the way it was being devoured, I’m
pretty sure it all tasted great as well.
The kiddos started their reindeer games
challenge early. They searched the house
for one complete set of Santa’s reindeer.
Small, candid photos of the bunch as individuals were scattered all
around. The task was simply to gather
one set of all nine and bring them to me.
The sets were then traded for … what else? An equal amount of candy. Well, the kids each got ten pieces of
candy. Gotta add one for Santa, right?
Adults received their traditional challenge
trivia sheets. They also were handed
some Christmas Visual Carols to decode. Much
like Visual Verses at church. Corey
remembered one from last year, but he was the only one. I have to say, though that Noa sure figured
out the songs quickly when I read the verse representations aloud. The final challenge was an IQ Exam. Letters were arranged in unique ways to
represent adages we all know and love.
They group did really well on that one.
Next we read the Christmas story from the Book
of Luke. Keeping the whole point of Christmas
at the front of the activities that were to follow. We also prayed and thanked God for the incredible
miracle that was Ed Dawson’s recovery from a heart attack. He was even scheduled to return home last
night after just five days from the attack.
I would say that counts …
Next came the premier reindeer game of the
year … Frosty’s Melting. In fact, all
that was left was two big chunks of his head, and those were going fast. The idea was to unravel the balls of
cellophane to uncover all the hidden treasures within. Sounds easy, right? Well, try it while the next person in line is
tossing dice as fast as he can to roll a double. That stops your efforts, and you must pass
the ball on to him. Our two groups dove
into this one with a vengeance, even when one group lost a die under the furniture. It was recovered as quickly as possible,
though, and the melting continued. The
two grand prize winners were the ones who unwrapped the final hidden treasure,
a gift card from … WalMart. As it turned
out it was the two 16 year-olds who held the goods at game’s end. Congrats to Jachin and Jonathan.
Although we had several other games ready
to go, by this time it was already past 8:30.
One of the trials of partying as a family … you have to watch for
bedtimes for the young ones. So that
meant it was time for the White Elephants to be unleashed. In a group this size we change the rules up a
bit. Everyone starts with a present from
under the tree. Any present. All sit down.
Then I asked a series of questions.
If you could answer yes to the questions, you stood up and opened your
gift so all could see. Then all sat back
down. The questions continued. And anytime you found yourself standing, you had
to either open the gift you had, or trade it with someone else with an
already-opened gift. Sounds confusing,
but it makes for a lot of activity as the questions get easier and easier to
respond to with a “yes.” And amid the chaos
you never know what might happen. We had
one person discover that it was not exactly a good idea to appropriate the gift
you have when you might have to give it up.
Especially when the gift you have claimed is a shirt and you have donned
said garment. I think we have a rallying
cry for next year’s reindeer games, though … “Keep the shirt!”
Everyone left with a fun gift, a smile on
their face, and a bit of a quicker get-along in their giddy-up. Nice day …
Matthew 2:10-11 says, “When they saw the star they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child
with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and
presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Father, thank you for friends who can enjoy
each other’s company and love on each other, especially at this time of
year. Amen.
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