Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Party's Over

Yes, the Christmas Ornament Exchange Party is now history but won't be forgotten. :-) We had a fabulous time and wish YOU could have been here.

Father Christmas waited and anticipated everyone's arrival.

And, Santa watched over everyone from the kitchen!

The Gingerbread Men were ready to stand guard over all the sweets.

Santa and his helpers have been busy baking cookies and such!

Father Christmas had name tags for all 29 guests!


The Snowman Tray was ready with 11 ornaments so a "Holiday Eye Spy" game could be enjoyed! They laughed, snickered & giggled while the game was played. LOL
There were three winners so the ornaments were split between them. :-)

After the "Holiday Eye Spy" game we played the planned ornament exchange game. OMG, we laughed so hard. Our guests had been instructed to bring their ornament wrapped and in a brown paper bag. The bags were passed out, their name tags and bags had been numbered so they were to verify that the numbers did not match. I wrote my version of T'was The Night Before Christmas" and basically had Santa driving through our community making lefts and rights to visit each guest. Everytime the words "LEFT"or "RIGHT" were mentioned they were to pass the bag to the left or the right. There were several times when someone either didn't have a bag or someone had two or three because lefts and rights were being confused. LOL When my story was over the passing of the bags stopped and they were to double check their numbers and make sure they didn't match! The variety of ornaments was incredible - cute, beautiful, sweet, adorable, were adjectives we kept hearing. :-)

Good food, good friends, laughs, giggles, hugs, kisses, etc were shared and enjoyed.
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I had party favors to send home with everyone - we spent Thanksgiving afternoon assembling the Chocolate Molten Cake mugs.
They had arrived with a brown paper bag and were leaving with the surprise mug in a brown paper bag. Married guests took two bags and single guests took one bag.


We spent lots of time preparing for the party and are happy to say that it was a success. They are all reserving the Monday after Thanksgiving next year so we can do it again. :-)
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In closing I'd like to add - this party would not have been such a success without the incredible support and assistance from my sweet husband, Ron. And, I need to acknowledge the help from my daughter, Kristie.
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And, now life gets back to normal and I'll continue to prepare for our family's Christmas.
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Thank you so much for visiting with me - I hope you'll come again soon!
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In Friendship!

35 comments:

Carol said...

OMG sounds like an absolutely fantastic time! How very, very fun!

Anonymous said...

A party that I wish I could have attended! It sounds absolutely wonderful and very fun. I'll mark my calendar...you did say again next year right? Hugs!!

Jocelyn said...

Wow that sounds like it was so much fun! Glad that it was such a success!

onlymehere said...

This sounds like it was so much fun! I love your Night Before Christmas game and how you moved the ornaments around. Very creative! Cindy

Yvonne said...

Sounds like a great time was had by all. It was a great idea and I'm glad you had such a good time. :)

Carol said...

What an awesome party. You did a great job with the decorations and gift bags. Fun, fun, fun!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

What a fabulous party - your friends are very lucky.

Quilter Kathy said...

You are too much! What a wonderful gift to your friends. So much thought, effort and care went into the preparations. It warms my heart just to read about it and see the photos! I might steal your eye spy idea for our Christmas activities!

Unknown said...

It sounds like you had a fabulous time Darlene. I love that passing game, especially when you know what you're holding on to.

Karen said...

Now that sounds like a fun party. Very creative. Were the ornaments for the exchange handmade or purchased ornaments?

Unknown said...

Sounds like you all had a great time! Thanks for the pictures, and ideas for some year in the future.

Abby and Stephanie said...

What a fun party! Lucky invitees. Oh the passing of the wrapped ornament during Twas the Night Before Christmas...I've done that...we'd pass the bag everytime the word "the" is said. Fun!

Kaaren said...

Sounds like a super time was had by all, Darlene. I wish I could have been there.

Sherri said...

What a great event you hosted...I do wish I could have been there!

Linda said...

Wonderful decorations! Love the gingerbread boy mug. Did someone make it for you or was it purchased? I would love to find one.

*karendianne. said...

Oh how delightful and fun-filled. This turned out so perfect. You had so much fun, too! I love that. A very nice share, a nice read and overall just a warm, smiley holiday post. Thank you for contributing to the Spirit of Christmas.

Carrie P. said...

Now that sounds like so much fun and a huge success. Looks like you know how to party.

Betsy said...

Excellent, excellent idea.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Sounds like a fun, fun time! We all wish we were there too!

Your home was beautifully decorated and your gift to everyone was wonderful. I've heard the mug cakes are divine!

Wendy said...

OMG what a fun party to be apart of, your friends are very lucky. I almost felt like I was there.
I'm glad it all turned out great.

Janet said...

What an amazing party you organised. You must be the hostess with the mostest. I love all the attention to detail. You are amazing.

Allie said...

Darlene that looks so fun!!! You are amazing - I love all the decorations and attention to detail.

Kim Brackett said...

Sounds like you had a great time! What a great idea. I love all your decorations, too. They're beautiful!

Lori said...

It looks like great fun!!!

Unknown said...

Hi Darlene! I haven't been to visit in a long time. Sounds like you had a great party. I love all your ideas. Now I have to read more of your blog and catch up with you! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Vicky said...

It sounds like you all had a blast! Those kind of parties are the best - everyone just having a old-fashioned good time! You're the hostess with the mostest!!

Thelma said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog, my you are a creative person! I'm glad you were happy with your party, you worked very hard on making it a festive event for your guests!!

Karen said...

It sounds like your party was a success!! Lots of fun and games! I love the party favor idea!

Tamara said...

Don't you just love how quickly those bags whip up and the cake is wonderful too. Maybe next year I'll plan an ornament exchange for my quilt guild.

Micki said...

Wow! I would have loved to be there...what fun!
Micki

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

What great ideas for a party! Sounds like a lot of fun.

antique quilter said...

sounds like a great party!
love the brown bag wrapped presents!
so glad you enjoyed yourself !
Looks like you didn't miss one detail, very well planned out!
Kathie

Nanette Merrill said...

Oh how much fun! And how much work this must have been. It sounds fabulous.

Dresden Quilter said...

You have such fabulous decorations and what an incredible amount of work. Everyone who was there, is very fortunate.

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Everything looks wonderful!!!
I love hosting parties. I need to make new friends here so I can get back in my part mode.

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