Christmas 2012

Christmas was a most excellent affair. After seeing the size of my parent's rented apartment down the road, we decided that it would be a much more appropriately sized venue for all Christmas celebrations. Especially as I had invited Steph, her friend Shawn, Frans and Michelle to the party. The day before me, Mum and Lauren sat down and planned the menu -

Chicken and prunes
Timon's Meatballs
Ham
String beans
Lauren's special salad
Prawns
Pumpkin Pie
Icecream
WINE

Michelle offered to bring pasta salad and eggnog (which turned out to be the hit of the party!) and Steph brought cheese and snacks. We bought a ton of supplies at the 99c store and Dad went overboard in buying wine glasses. I felt everyone should be content drinking out of plastic cups but Dad insisted. We did the food shopping, along with a million other last minute folks, at Whole Foods down the road. Mum couldn't resist a few extra bits and pieces and we ended up with smoked salmon, two pumpkin pies, a special cake for pumpkin-allergic Frans and oodles of treats.

The night before Christmas everyone stayed over at our apartment, Mum and Dad in the bed, Lucy on the couch, T and I on the sofa bed and poor Lauren on a makeshift floor bed. We watched Smokey Mountain Christmas and built a wicked gingerbread house that tasted like cardboard but looked like a dream. Check out Lauren's pics here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150433378157307.358316.612547306&type=3

On Christmas morning we shared presents and setup for the party. I spent a good half an hour going from 99c store to 99c store in search of die that I had forgotten to buy for my special Danish Christmas game. We enjoyed all this great food and greater company, ate ourselves stupid, crafted a spectacular sangria out of some nasty undrinkable wine and laughed through two present games. Frans and Michelle went off to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show and Timon went to Harlem to hang out with his visiting Melbourne friends, Andrew, Danielle and James.

All in all I think it was a total success. And I can totally recommend the no-stress last minute approach to the food. We ate like kings! The only disappointment was that the sun shone all day and there wasn't a speck of snow to be seen.