In the Mood

It’s Christmas time and time for a carol. Time to sing about the little King. To fill the hall and roll out the barrel, have ourselves a fling.

Ahhh … The Carpenters. Gotta love ‘em.

For several weeks now, I’ve been thinking that I want to have a Christmas party. (If Husband is lurking, that statement should get him to crawl out and come to life!) I can picture it in my head and it all seems like a grand idea.

The house will be decorated for the holidays and will smell like gingerbread (from candles, I’ve got my limits and a very good candle distributor) or perhaps evergreen (I’ve got a good REAL TREE connection as well). The lights will be dim allowing the Christmas lighting do most of the heavy lifting. A fire will be burning outside in the fireplace. The night will be crisp and comfortable so – either out or in – everyone will be comfortable.

I’ve got a great new recipe book for dips that I’m dying to try so, I think I’ll go all out and set up an appetizer bar (which is, by the way, where you’ll be able to find me) and a buffet. On the buffet? Hmmm … let’s do a nice beef entree … something that melts in your mouth. We’ll go with a salad and a couple of simple veggies to round out the meal. Hot cider and chocolate and a good wine might be excellent choices to wet the whistle.

In the background, you’ll hear a soft mixture of Christmas favorites – I’ve got some amazing instrumental tracks that would be wonderful background music for this little soiree.

The guest list will include friends, old and new, who will talk easily as they moved through the evening. No stress. Just time to talk with friends, catch up on family happenings, and tell great stories about years past.

There, all planned. Well, except for a few fairly important things. You know, things like

• What date will work?
• Who’s going to clean this house?
• Where are we going to put all of the toys?
• Who’s going to cook? (I can eat with the best of them. Cooking for more than a few … yeh, not going to end well, I think.)
• Where are the kids going to be while all of this sophisticated adult stuff is going on?

I’ll stop with those because they are the ones keeping me from sending out invitations at this point.

Here’s what is cool about this whole thing. Ready?

We are lucky enough to have a lot of friends who would attend this party that I’ve described. But those same friends would be just as likely to come join us for hamburgers and brats or pizza – in a house full of toys and kids.

See, the thing is, when you get right down to it? This Martha Stewart vision I’ve got is about all of the things from my childhood that scream, “It’s Christmas.” None of it, however, IS Christmas.

So, I’ll see y’all at … hmmm … (insert eating establishment here) and we’ll connect.  I’ll catch some of you on Facebook. Others, I’ll call. Of course, I’ll meet you all here!

However we connect … we’ll connect. Welcome to the party!