Well, we survived another Married Couples party and here I am to tell about it. We really did have a lot of fun and this time we were in the church basement instead of a restaurant. We had so much stuff to take in for decorating… my house is still a disaster as I’ve robbed all my displays and gathered up every piece of garland and trinket I could find to use. We’ve been collecting things for a few days and my table was filled, a card table was loaded and another long table was holding all our stuff. Last night for dinner, we cleared off 2 areas for our plates and made do.
Here was where we had the party and this was how we set up the tables…I took a picture when we were finished decorating, but it didn’t turn out… :o( This picture shows everyone there…
My hubby wanted to bring in our Nativity set that we always have set up at our house at Christmas. He made the stable and my mom had bought us the figurines as we were growing up. I love this picture of my hubby down on his knees putting it all in place…
The food was wonderful as always… I made BBQ chicken in my Savory pan and Leann made a ham… then most everyone else brought some kind of a side dish or a dessert. Without too much trouble we had a nice selection and I didn’t hear any complaints. I made the Holiday Punch that was served at my wedding and actually got the last of it when we were cleaning up. I tipped up the punch bowl to get the last little bit. It’s yummy!
We had 20 couples this time but had a few cancellations because it’s finals week.
The ones that did venture out enjoyed themselves and some said it was better than going to a restaurant.
We played one game where I took 4 Christmas cards that were kind of similar; houses with glitter on them and sort of old fashioned. I cut them into 10 pieces and mixed up all 4 cards. If you do this, you just have to make sure that you have the exact number of people as you do puzzle pieces. I had everyone draw out a piece but they weren’t allowed to look at it. it worked out perfectly as I had 20 couples or 40 people. I had 4 cards and I had cut them into 10 pieces each. I told them there were 9 other people who had pieces that went to their puzzle. They had to find them and put their puzzle together on a piece of paper. The first team that finished got a prize. It was so funny to watch and hear everyone yelling out… “Glitter… I’ve got glitter…” “Anyone have a yellow house?” “Who’s got a piece of the gold border?” It was very loud and very crowded around the table where they were putting them together. I wished I had taken a picture of it, but I didn’t have my phone with me just then.
When the winners received their prizes (candy), the others wanted to stay and finish their puzzles… here are a couple pictures I took after the crowds dwindled down a bit.
We also played a game where everyone received a prize. I had asked everyone to bring 2 wrapped gifts and they were placed on a table. I drew out the names of each couple and they went up front to pick out a prize. We had them open it and show what they won. When we had gone through everyone, I said there was a twist… I said 4 very blessed people could have a chance at “exchanging, trading, swapping, stealing, taking, etc.” someone else’s gift and they got yours. There was a lot of hope going on as I drew out one name at a time to see what would they do… keep or exchange for someone else’s gift.
I took some pictures of a few people, but Edgar and Alba’s turned out the best. I was too far away. Edgar was thrilled with his present…before he even opened it.
My hubby also wanted to have a “Nutcracker Hall of Fame.” People have given us lots of Nutcrackers over the years and we now have 42 I think. My hubby picked out 13 of them and I made little cards to set in front of who that nutcracker represented. Dana, a man at our church who is quite the carpenter; Chi-Chi, who is a doctor… having a bad hair day; Keith, who is always putting out fires got the fireman nutcracker; Eze, who was a football player got that one…and so the list went on… maybe you can click on the pictures and see them a little better “bigger.” I made the Nutcracker Hall of Fame sign to hang above them.
We had the jar of candies that you got to guess how many were in it, and a new guy and his wife won it…
There is going to be another party in the basement tomorrow night so we were asked to leave the garland and the candles and the holly and the poinsettias and table cloths and lights in place so they could use them. Works for me! I’ve got plenty to put away tomorrow…
Oh, and one last thing… I really don’t know why I did this… but Joy might be happy. Just as my hubby was saying, “We have to go…” I ran into Rebecca’s room and snapped this picture just so you could see I “did” find something to wear. Something I already had, and may have worn last year. It was a burgundy top with some black embroidery on it and a black crushed velvet collar and cuffs. I wore black pants with it and was okay with how I looked. I don’t know why I didn’t smile… Then it was time to dash off, so this will have to do… :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a terrific post tonight, Jeanne! I love your nativity set, and the stable that George made–really special!!
Sounds like the party was a huge success! What a wonderful potluck you had, and that Christmas-card picture game was genius! Such fun!
Love your nutcracker display and the signs–particularly the one that says you don’t know who he is because he only comes on Easter and Christmas. As a pastor’s daughter, I can really appreciate that, as, yes, there were always a few of those We called them the Easter and Christmas “lambs”!
I like your top–kind of dressy but still comfortable what with all you had to do last night!
H ICharlotte,
The party was a lot of fun…lots of work but lots of fun too!
The card game was probably more fun than the gift exchange… it seemed everyone liked doing the card puzzle the most…
My hubby thought of all the things on the cards… I wondered if anyone would say anything about that one… glad you noticed…it was too cute of a nutcracker to leave at home! We had to “recognize” him somehow!
Thanks for your compliments Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
As we all can see, the party was a great success, Jeanne! It seems like you outdo yourself every year! I can see why you will be tired today!!
I too, love George’s manger! It is so different, and I see he made extra sections for the animals, which makes it unique in my book! Wonderful job too, of setting it up!
The food, goodness, what DIDN’T you have? Everything looks yummy, and I certainly wish I was there just for that!
Your games are always so unique and yet so simple, but I bet lots of fun! Never heard of the puzzle game, and that could be a good game for older kids when they come to visit, and something to do with all those cards!
I see the rain didn’t dampen anything to make your party fun, maybe that’s why you were not smiling? The rain?? No matter, you still look good, and that was an excellent choice of outfit!
HI Linda,
I wish my phone had taken brighter pictures…they seem a little bland to me… I do need a new one and have been looking.
I don’t know exactly when he made that stable but it was at least 35 years ago… I love it too. I have it on top of my blue cabinet this year… it looks quite at home up there.
You can adapt that puzzle game to any occasion… birthday cards work, Easter cards work, but Christmas cards are my favorite. I try to find similar cards in the same color tones to make it more difficult to find all the pieces. If you have a red and blue card and a white one, all you have to do is call out White, Blue, Red…and it’s too easy… I found ones that all had houses in them, mostly glittery or gold outlines, and more muted colors, sort of old fashioned like. It made it a little more challenging. :o) You could make them easier if you were doing kids.
Thanks Linda…. I felt okay in what I picked to wear… it was pretty comfortable, but I was very tired when I got home… I slept until 10:20 this morning… gracious me!
Blessings, Jeanne
Bonjour Jeanne !
What a wonderful party you had !
And it is nice to put a lovely face on your name.
Thanks for sharing.
Amitiés.
Bonjour Sophie!
Thanks for reading about the party last night. I hope you felt like you were there with us!
Merry Christmas,
Blessings, Jeanne
I think that’s the nicest stable I’ve ever seen. My compliments to George, and I liked your picture of him putting the scene together. Those are great camels too. It was generous of you to take them to the party — I’d be afraid of losing or breaking something, but George was right. Sometimes something is too nice not to share. I love the light inside the stable. In fact, the whole set is just perfect.
My first question as I started reading was, “What did you wear?” It’s a good choice for the season and the party. Thanks for sending us the picture.
The card puzzle game is a great idea. I can see us all considering our cards as future puzzles. I can see that the food was a great success. I’ll bet that table was so beautiful before the crowds came with their plates. Too bad food is for eating — sometimes it deserves framing.
On a different subject, I’m the person who won Kirsten’s last outfit. Usually Kit wears Kirsten’s clothes, but she’s wearing the St. Lucia’s gown and crown of lights. I surprised myself by choosing Lindsay for the new dress, cap, and apron. Her brown hair, in color and style, is perfect with that pretty cap. We are both really pleased with the results. She’s not yet wearing the shawl, but it is so soft. Susette is right, you really are a master at combining fabrics.
HI Marilyn,
I couldn’t agree with you more about the stable… I do love it and think my hubby did a wonderful job on it. It’s the perfect size for our figurines too… I told George everyone liked his stable and he smiled. :o)
Everyone will be playing this game with their grandkids after Christmas dinner. It really is fun to watch everyone play.
Yes, the table with the food on it, WAS very pretty but my phone seems to have lost its ability to capture colors very well lately… everything seemed bland and sort of one color… dull!
I am glad you are enjoying Kirsten’s dress ON Lindsay… it’s fun sometimes to change things up a bit with our dolls, isn’t it?
Thanks so much for your sweet compliments.
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, the perfect outfit! Love the burgundy and black. Such a fashionista.
Looks like everyone enjoyed the food and fun. Your decorating really made a difference too. It’s so nice to have a pretty tablescape .
So, hopefully, you can take a day off and enjoy the memories of your efforts last night. But, I’m sure you already have a giant to do list for today also. 🙂
Heat will return here on Tuesday if all goes well. Good idea, but not the price. 🙁
Oh Joy,
Hardly the fashionista… I’ll leave that to Ellowyne!
It was pretty amazing how a few decorating hours could transform that basement into a lovely setting for our party. I wish my picture had turned out that I took after I had the basement all decorated… they all turned out blurry! ugh!
We got most of the stuff put away today… I still have a few tubs out that we put in the back of the house, so when they get finished using our stuff for the party tonight, we can get it all packed away… Then I can get everything all organized and cleaned up again. But for the most part, my living room and dining room is pretty well back in order… the Nutcrackers are all back in their places.
I bet you can’t wait for some heat… the bill? Not so much! :o( Sorry…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
It looks like you had a successful couples night. The card game sounds like fun and is a great idea. The food looked yummy. Potluck is always full of delicious varieties.
I just love the picture of you. So sweet and pretty. It’s always nice to see pictures of you.
And it was nice to see George setting up the manger scene. We have two mangers my husband’s father made. They are so cherished.
Have a nice weekend. With Christmas around the corner, things have stepped up, but I surely love this season.
Thanks Paula,
Yes, the party was very much a success and lots of fun too!
Oh brother…the picture of me? I almost didn’t put it in there, but I need to get over that… thanks for your sweet compliment!
As we were decorating for the party yesterday afternoon, my hubby was telling everyone, the nutcrackers were the whimsical part, the Nativity side was the serous part. I do love our Nativity set.
Yes, Christmas has certainly stepped up and I need to get on the stick! Big time!
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
Good Morning Jeanne,
Looks and surely sounds like your couples party was a HUGE success. Everything looks wonderful. The food table is making my mouth water. I’m sure everyone had a great time. Your Christmas card game sounds like so much fun. I think I’m going to borrow that idea for our next party.
You look very nice and your eyes smile even if your mouth isn’t. It’s a lovely photo.
Thanks for sharing with us.
hugs
Ingrid
Hi Ingrid,
Our party was a lot of fun and if you play the puzzle game I hope you all have fun too… You can have some pieces already cut or you can just wait and see how many want to play and cut your cards into that many pieces… The trick is to find cards that are similar in color and design… for example, have houses, snowmen, ornaments, glitter, all red and white, etc.
It’s really fun to play!
Well, thank you very much for your kind comment on “my” picture. I appreciate your kind compliments!
Blessings, Jeanne
Looks like your couples’ night was a huge success. It looked like a lot of fun and I loved the idea of the card puzzle. Never thought of something like that. I love potluck suppers. Lots of good things to eat. I often think of the story of the loaves and fishes when I go to a potluck supper. So many people to feed, but there always seems to be some leftover even after everyone has eaten their fill. I love your choice of wearing attire. Perfect!
We have our church Christmas party this coming Sunday. The children will do the Christmas pageant and I will get to watch my two grandchildren perform as I did as a child. One of my favorite Christmas traditions. Then we will adjourn to the parish hall for a yummy potluck and carol sing. You probably feel today like I felt after my week of rehearsals and concerts. I call it post-performance languor. I guess you call it post-party organization lanquor. At least for me, it takes a couple days to rev up the energy again.
I finished decorating my house and putting the final touches on my village. I’ll send pictures soon. Gave up on the outside this year. Too much wind and rain to deal with. My Christmas blow-ups would probably end up in the next county if I put them up. Can’t put the icicle lights up outside because the ground is too wet to hold the ladder. This year I’ll just enjoy my neighbors. They managed to get them up before all the bad weather hit.
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for your comments about the party and about what I wore… I probably could have gotten someone at the party to take mine and George’s picture, but I just decided I had curled my hair and it was rainy so I took it myself in front of the mirror.
It’s always fun to just see what shows up when you ask others to bring something. I was so glad we didn’t end up with 15 desserts and one salad or 10 containers of potato salad and NO desserts. It worked out just fine…
I slept until 10:20 this morning… it was almost noon before I got going for the day!
I’ll be watching for your village pictures whenever you get them to me.
You can do OUTSIDE lights next year… I’m with you… just enjoy your neighbors!
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a fun evening! Love, love that Nativity set. I collect them and that stable is such a clever design and perfect proportion to the figures.
So did you wait to cut the cards until you knew how many people would be there?
Hope you aren’t too tired today… give yourself time to relax
HI Kathie,
You can wait until you see how many people want to play or you can have a few pieces cut and then cut them into more pieces if you need to. Decide on how many teams you want… If you have 3 nice cards you can have 15 people cut them into 5 pieces… Just have the same number of pieces (if possible) for each team and to make it harder… have your cards similar in picture, or color or with glitter… the closer they are to each other, the harder it is to find all the people who are on your team.
I was tired last night and Kathie, I didn’t wake up until 10:20 this morning… my goodness the day was half over by then. :o) But we worked and got most of the house back in order today. I still need to get the rest of my stuff after they use our stuff for another party tonight…then when it’s all packed away, I can get some pictures of my house…without all the tubs of junk in them.
Thanks Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a fun evening that must have been. You certainly had enough food and creative games. The puzzle games sounds like a lot of fun and challenging at the same time.
George’s stable is wonderful- what a treasure. Homemade items are so special. My Papa ()grandfather) enjoyed working with wood as well. I have the cradle/bed ( the cradle rockers come off) that he made for me one Christmas while my Nanny (grandmother) made the mattress, embroidered pillow, and quilt as well as a little jumping jack toy and the dollhouse he made for my mom.
Thanks for your comments on my Christmas treasures. They are all I have out Christmas-wise inside. No tree up 🙂 and sadly may not happen as both my mom and daughter are ill with the respiratory thing that’s going around.
You look lovely. burgundy and black are classic and elegant for the holidays. The reason you aren’t smiling is that you are exhausted from all the preparations.:-) Hopefully, you’ll find time to relax today
Hi Laura,
You really sound like the older the things the more you like them. I love handmade things too and love to give them as often as I can. I can remember being up in my bedroom working on some counted cross stitch picture for my mom on Christmas eve… silly me… I’m still running behind… just like so long ago! :o(
Christmas is what you make it and Laura, I’m sure you will make it as Christmasy as you can with the time you have the resources… sick ones do take time and that’s more important than a tree being up. I hope not having a tree up won’t get you down… May the Lord bless you as you tend to others.
Laura, I was so tired when I got home last night, but I wrote my post and when I got into bed it was late, but I must have zonked out, and didn’t wake up until 10:20 this morning… I can’t remember the last time I slept THAT late!
I did relax some today and as soon as I get my comments done, I’m going to see if I can’t get Navi’s dress set finished.
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful party. Love the manger George made and, as someone has said, the proportions are perfect and the picture of him setting it up is a treasure. The game was sure a lot of fun. I’ll have to share that game with my grandchildren with some cards from past Christmases. As usual, I don’t know how you two do it! How fortunate your group is to have a wonderful couple like you and George to get things organized and put in all that work.
Have a good rest now before the rest of the Christmas Holidays. You’ve certainly earned a bit of rest.
Thank you Susette,
I love our manger too and it certainly is a treasure!
If you have a box of old Christmas cards, you could just take 2 cards, the same, and cut them up into the same number of pieces, even cutting them out the same by laying them on top of each other and Krish and Riya could have a race to see who could put the puzzle together the fastest. :o)
I was feeling it late last night and was pretty pooped when we got home. I think the last time we did a party in the church basement was probably 10 or 12 years ago… I was much younger then and had lots more stamina…
I went to momma’s this afternoon and helped her get some Christmas cards signed and ready to go to the other tenants in her apartment place. I’m going to make some cookies and attach a little bag of them to the cards and put them in everyone’s drop box by their door. Then momma needed her hair cut. When I got home I was pooped again, but I’m determined to see if I can’t get Navi’s dress finished tonight and listed on their Fan Club site.. otherwise I’ll be keeping it till next year!
Thank you Susette,
Blessings,. Jeanne
Lovely party (and post). TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) summary – buy an Android or Apple phone, keep location turned on even if it runs your battery down, call your phone provider if your phone is list/missing or stolen. And set up your Google Play or Apple account.
I was slow responding this time because my phone was lost/stolen and thank goodness recovered by the county sheriff. At first I thought I’d left it in the car, then decided it either slipped out of my pocket or the cart seat… or was taken/stolen. I checked with the service desk at the store (twice) searched my car (& beside it) with a flaslight. I knew I had it because just before I got to the store my car Bluetooth read a text message from my husband asking me to get more eggs. I replied ok and rushed in the store to get to the pharmacy window before they closed and realized I didn’t have it when I got my wallet out for my pen while in line to add eggs to my shopping list. That was when I thought I left it in the car. After I got home, husband searched the car again. I called my service provider and even though they were closed I could report it stolen. The next 2 hours I spent on my home computer changing passwords on anything I might have accessed through my phone. Then I realized I should report it stolen because it was only 2 months old and about $279 (once you add the case, glass protector etc). So deciding it must have been at Costco, which is in the city limits, I called the city police Dept, who had me check with Costco to see if they had it on video (I had the 1 hour 3 minute time frame because of my text to hubby & my pharmacy receipt. The next day I talked to “real” people at my phone service provider & they told me Lovely party (and post). I was slow responding this time because my phone was lost/stolen and thank goodness recovered by the county sheriff. At first I thought I’d left it in the car, then decided it either slipped out of my pocket or the cart seat… or was taken/stolen. I knew I had it because just before I got to the store my car Bluetooth read a text message from my husband asking me to get more eggs. I replied ok and rushed in the store to get to the pharmacy window before they closed and realized I didn’t have it when I got my wallet out for my pen while in line to add eggs to my shopping list. That was when I thought I left it in the car. I called my service provider and even though they were closed I could report it stolen. The next 2 hours I spent changing passwords on anything I might have accessed through my phone. The next day I talked to “real” people who told me my Android has a locate feature (if location is turned on). Once I logged in to Google Play Services, I could remotely lock everything, erase all (like a factory reset), and add an emergency message. We also put it on a national stolen list where whoever took it could not use the SIM card or replace it. So for the message I put “if found call… “my husband’s cell number” since I didn’t want thieves to have my home address from our house number. Costco called back and said their video wasn’t able to show it outside, at the entrance or the pharmacy. But I was waiting for the police to call back because locate/find your phone found it and I needed to know what I should do next. It was 1 town over on a street with only 2 houses. I called that town’s police & the county sheriff too. Their dispatch said the case stays with my town. My town’s PD finally returned my call about locating it miles from my home or the 1 store I was in. They coordinated with county, who sent an office, who did a “knock and talk”. The man who had it gave it to them right away. He told them he found it by the Costco entrance and was going to give it to the phone company. Ummm… but my notifications showed he tried to use it (three times) and he didn’t call the if found number. And why didn’t he just give it to the Costco greeter, a cashier, the service desk or the receipt checker on the way out. I think he was going to keep it and was spooked when the armed sheriff showed it. My “locate it” location gave an exact latitude and longitude and a Google maps picture asking if I needed directions. The locate it does say if stolen don’t try to recover it yourself. Within 30 minutes of the county sheriff’s department coming in, I had my phone back. I’d given them the emergency unlock code, a description, make, model, even seriel number (since I had my receipt and box) and what my screensaver photo was (my husband & 2 daughters hugging after 3 years apart). I was soooooo happy to get my phone back, with no damage, or access to my personal information or accounts.
Sorry it garbled/doubled part of the post please delete it. Synopsize it if you like, but basically heed the 1st paragraph.