Our Christmas Party

I can't believe it has taken me a month to finally get this one done. Alot has been going on in these past few months and I didn't want to leave anything out. This year (I guess technically it was last year), I decided I wanted us to have a Christmas party for our friends. The anticipation for this Christmas was bittersweet. On one hand, we are in Japan, far away from our families, this year being especially difficult because of Grandma's death. And on the other, we have a good group of friends now, and there is something exotic about sharing Christmas in a different place with different people. I decided that if I stayed busy and kept my Christmas spirit high, it would be difficult for me to get depressed about the hard stuff. So, I downloaded Christmas songs early in the month and started getting into the Christmas spirit early on. We had a party on the 14th for our friends. We had over 15 people in our tiny little apartment. However, I think it was very cozy and enjoyable. There was SO much food. I guess I am like my father in that respect as well. I always worry about whether there will be enough. But, there were like 20 different dishes, some prepared by me, and others that were brought by our friends. Everything was great!

We started dinner with some appetizers, like ants on a log and chips and dip. When I planned the party, I asked people to either bring a dish that reminded them of their Christmas back home, or a family tradition that did. I wanted our Christmas party to be everyone's Christmas party. My familiy tradition that I decided to share was the BINGO that we always play at Grandpa Coles on Christmas Eve. I sent Jeremy to Daiso (like the dollar store) to get some interesting gifts, and because I couldn't find real scratch offs, I bought some make-your-own kind, which ended up being quite good.

We had crackers (poppers) to get the party going. They weren't the traditional style that are done in England, but the idea was there.

Josh brought the wishbone from the Thanksgiving dinner he had. His family tradition was that the 2 youngest get to break the wishbone from Thanksgiving, on Christmas. And, pork tenderloin, that I hear was pretty tasty. And, guacamole that was really good.

Lisa brought Pommegranite martinis. It was a first for her to have to make them though.

Marta and Cody brought tacos.

Vicky brought an italian fruit cake. I think it was called a Panettone. It was good, not like the fruitcakes that we think of back home that weigh like a brick.

Jeremy's tradition was clam chowder, so I made chowder for him.

After dinner we did a white elephant gift exchange that was really fun! Everyone brought silly gifts, I thought it was great. Perfect, in fact!

Then we had the Pommegranite martini's and finished off the night with dessert. I think everyone had a great time, and I LOVED it!!!! We will definitely be having Christmas parties for our friends, wherever we live, for a long time to come.

The night ended with the wishbone breaking, done by the babies... Elizabeth and Cody. I think Elizabeth won. That part of the evening is a bit hazy ;o)