The Saturday before Christmas we found our calendar empty so we quickly filled it up with a Christmas Cocktails and Juice Boxes party. We have always wanted to have a Christmas party and we were excited to finally host one. We had nearly 50 people attend between adults and kids. We were overwhelmed with the volume of YES's and thrilled that the party was going to be a hoot! We couldn't wait!!
We spent the day prepping, as you always do when you host.
Keith and Oliver were in charge of one of the three beverage stations. The tub was full of assorted beers and the wagon was filled with juice boxes, water and soda. Oliver was in charge of making sure there was adequate amounts of ice covering each beverage for optimal chill.
Mama was in charge of the Christmas Champagne Punch. YUM!
As people filed in, Oliver was the host with the most, showing them around if they were first timers, and making sure they were having a great time. He and Anika bellied up to the kids coloring table right off. I didn't get many pictures from the party, but much of the night this table was crawling with coloring and eating kids. Yes, in case you're wondering, those are in fact big bowls of golf fish and animal crackers. What party is complete without them?
Like most social events, most everyone was in the kitchen. One of these days I'll figure out the trick to getting people to move out into the rest of the house.
Keith, Patrick, Kristi and Dan... in the kitchen.
Stacy and Morgan with Laura and Anabel.
It was great to have some young ladies in the house for a change.
At one point, one of the girls asked me "Where is your dress up box?". I held her hand and said "Oh, sweetheart, we have boys, we dont' have a dress up box."
I know... even boys can have a dress up box, but our boys aren't two of them. They aren't the dress up type, except Kellan with his hats and I don't think a hat box is exactly what she was looking for.
Michael paused for a very brief moment for a photo. Taking pictures of the kids was like Mission Impossible. They hardly stopped moving.
Unless, it was time to eat. Keith found this handsome gent dining on little smokey's and mac and cheese all by himself.
Until his dad joined him. If you don't recognize him, that's Oliver's buddy, Charlie and his Dad, Dan.
These two princesses, Anabel and Adie, were happy to stop for a photo. They were SO pretty in their Christmas dresses.
It was GREAT to have Bryan stop by. We don't get to see Bryan much these days as he's been busy conquering ALL of the 53 Colorado 14ers and is now onto another climbing quest.
We always love seeing Michael and Michelle. They were original owners in our new neighborhood and live just across the way, but we are constantly going opposite directions. We occasional see them at the playground but with winter weather, that is less often so it was great to have a chance to say hello and catch up.
As the night wound down and people filed out, Kellan brought ducky out to say hello and goodbye.
We had a GREAT time. Such a great time that we are considering making this an annual event.
For the first time ever, we opted to leave the mess, go to bed and clean-up the next day. Oliver tackled the play room (and did a great job) while Keith and I tackled the main level of the house. As we were cleaning we were smiling ear-to-ear and had this thought:
SIGNS of a GOOD PARTY:
Sticky Kitchen Floor
Sticky Entry Way Floor
Empty Dishes
Empty Glasses
Full Trash Can
A Play Room that looks like it Met a Hurricane
To many, this may seem like a nightmare to clean up. To us, it was heaven. All of these signs, were signs of the presence of great fun with friends. We are blessed to be surrounded by so many people who we call our Colorado family. We celebrate holidays, birthdays and special occasions; just as you would with any family. Some have been friends since before we had the boys. Some became friends because our kids were friends first. Through it all, we are beaming with love and happiness and with a smile from ear to ear because we know that this life we have is overflowing with fun and friends that are family.
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