Secret Pal Party

Good Monday morning!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. The mountains were beautiful, and our Thanksgiving trip was successful. When you take four teenagers and two pre-teens anywhere for four days, it can really go either way!

We had our Thanksgiving Dinner by candlelight Thursday night all dressed up in dresses and ties (girls - dresses; boys - ties). It was very, very festive. I've added a few pictures of our Thanksgiving to the picture gallery. Also, the Showcase Pic of the Week is a picture I really like of Austin and me. (He's being silly, but that's okay... at least he's letting someone take his picture with his Mom!) I'm always on the picture taking end, but this past weekend, I had a lot of pictures taken of me with everyone.

Dixie Stampede was wonderful. "Everyone" said we would need to expect to be in traffic one to two hours to get to the Stampede for the 1:00 show, so we left at 9:45 to make it by 11:45 when the doors opened and the 12:15 pre-show. As we came out from our cabin area, there was a sign that said Pigeon Forge - 5 Miles. Hmmm. We had never been down that road before. There were no cars coming either way. No traffic at all. Hmmm again. We decided to go for it. Five miles later, we pull up to a red light on the main drag in Pigeon Forge. Across the street... Dixie Stampede. Time - 10:00 a.m. Are you kidding me? Now we were dressed, psyched up for a two hour traffic jam and we were there in 15 minutes! No way. So instead of going back up to the cabin (just in case the traffic did get bad in the next hour or so), we went shopping for an hour and then back to get our tickets and enjoy the show. And enjoy the show we did. It was wonderful.

The Christmas show is truly spectacular (and I'm not just saying that because it's on the front of the brochure). I think one of my favorite moments was when they had a nativity scene with live sheep, donkeys and CAMELS. Three of the most beautiful camels I have ever seen brought the Three Wise Men to Mary and Joseph. They didn't even look real they were so groomed and fluffy. I was pretty happy (except for the fact they wouldn't let me film during the show -- you'll just have to take my word for it).

The next day was the official "Day at the Cabin," so while the guys stayed in to watch the Iron Bowl, the girls went down some back roads and found fudge to sustain us. We watched Christmas movies, played Buzz Word (great game, by the way), took turns in the hot tub and just hung out.

Today it looked like the entire state of Alabama was trying to go home, and we were in horrible traffic until 20 minutes outside of Chattanooga where everything miraculously cleared up. How does that happen? One minute, you're bumper to bumper, and the next it's like 2,000 cars have just been lifted off the highway. I'm not complaining, but it's kind of strange, don't you think?

We made some wonderful memories... and now it's time to get back to the school grind and make some Christmas memories as well during the next 25 days.

And I have just the things to help. This week alone, I have a great party for girls of all ages, a delicious and simple meal for your busy Christmas schedule, a great tradition to start with your children (male and female), a great Christmas date and a holiday book you have to go out and buy... RIGHT NOW! And I'll have more of the same next week.

Before we get to business, I will give you my Christmas card count (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

Christmas Cards - 2 (I'm okay, I'm okay... it's still very early in the season.)

I had told you I was trying to up my blog count, also. However, I think I will give weekly totals for that goal. We'll still be able to see if my "readership" is growing.

Blog Total (Week of November 23) - 73 (Ugh! That's down from 129 last week. Maybe no one reads blogs during the holidays. Again, it's still very early in the season, so we'll see if it gets better.)

Secret Pal Party (Girls - Any Ages)

Once again, this party is set at the mall. You'll need an even number of girls and at least one mom to help with each group. Six to eight girls divided into two teams of three or four would work well. Each girl will need to bring $10.

Before you leave for the mall, have each girl fill out the following questionnaire (WITHOUT putting her name on the form):

Favorite Color
Favorite Animal
Favorite Food
Favorite Accessory (Ear Rings, Bracelet, Nail Polish, Etc.)
Favorite Thing I Collect

When you arrive at the mall, divide the girls into two groups. Group A will draw a name out of a bag that includes only the information for the girls in Group B. Group B will draw a name out of a bag that includes only the information for the girls in Group A. Do it this way to ensure you don't have two girls on the same team buying for each other.

Now, Group A with the Mom Leader will get to shop in one-half of the mall for 40 minutes. Group B with the Mom Leader will get to shop in the other half of the mall for 40 minutes. At the end of 40 minutes, the Mom Leaders will call each other, and the girls will swap sides of the mall for another 30 to 40 minutes. Remember, they do not swap Mom Leaders. The groups stay together until the end of the shopping time. Also, the girls are NOT shopping for themselves. They are shopping for items their Secret Pal would enjoy going by the questionnaire they chose out of the bag.

While the girls are shopping, you as the Mom Leader are taking them into stores that might have items they could purchase for their Secret Pal. At the end of the 60 to 80 minutes of shopping, again the Mom Leaders will call each other and tell each other they are ready for wrapping. Have each Mom Leader meet at a specific place in the mall for wrapping. (One Mom Leader may take her group to a table at the Food Court while the other Mom Leader takes her group to a sitting area outside one of the major stores. This is to be pre-determined before the shopping begins.)

When you arrive at the wrapping destination, the Mom Leader will give each girl a medium-sized gift bag and two or three sheets of tissue paper. Each girl will then wrap her gift for her Secret Pal. After another ten or 15 minutes for wrapping, the Mom Leaders will call each other and meet in a pre-determined area in the Food Court for supper. (Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's, etc.) The girls will all meet, and then take turns reading the sheet of paper they drew at the beginning of the evening. The girls can all take turns guessing whose sheet has just been read. When the correct girl has been guessed, her Secret Pal can give her the gift(s) to open. Then it will be another girl's turn to read her sheet that has all of the Favorites of another friend listed. When that girl's name is guessed, she gets to open her gift(s). Repeat this process until everyone has opened their gift. Take your time, and let each girl open her gift as slowly or quickly as she wants.

After everyone has opened their gift(s), you can enjoy a hamburger and the Christmas decorations before heading home. End the evening with a prayer thanking God for friendship and Christmas fun. Also include the verse "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect GIFT is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." James 1:17. Remind them of the most perfect gift of all, Jesus.

This would also make a great Sunday School Social for pre-teen or young teenage girls. It's always good to teach young teens (or even older ones for that matter) to focus more on others than themselves.

I hope you have a wonderful Monday. Remember, Tuesday is a quick and easy recipe to use on those December nights that are full of school concerts, Christmas parades and other things that might get in the way of a big sit-down dinner. I'll talk to you tomorrow.