Office Christmas Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's an excerpt from my weekly letter to my family about Travis' office party dinner:

It was so fun for me to decorate the house with fresh greens, berries and lights.  I stockpiled plates, candles, glass hurricanes and a tablecloth at the Goodwill in Redmond in preparation.  I even found treasures at the thrift store in gold chargers, ornamental berries and pine cones, and more pillar candles.  Each guest got a little gold sparkly take-out box with homemade toffee inside, wrapped in a red ribbon.  I was in my element.  Taking a clue from last year's party where I was over-stressing about the charred chicken cordon-bleu and Travis almost ran to the store for rotisserie chickens, I kept the main dish easy in a spiral-cut ham, then we had mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, Ruth Wilson's rolls, green salad with assorted dressings, green beans with bacon and onion.  The desserts were chocolate cake, carrot cake, and Costco cheesecake with cherry topping.  With the rented table and chairs, we tightly fit 16 people in the kitchen and dining room.  Travis works with a good group of women and we had a good time chatting with them and their dates.  The kids ate quickly and then disappeared downstairs.  And as much fun as it was to anticipate, it was nice when the last dish had been washed and placed on the stack, the lights were turned out, and I went to bed for some much-needed shut-eye.