Traveling Christmas Tea Party

Good Monday morning!

First things first... If you go to the the section on the right of your screen that lists the blogs I visit, click onto "a little bit of me," and look at Susan's champagne Christmas tree. I love the tree, but the best part as you read the entire post is the picture ornament frames. She gets one each year and... well, just read the rest. Great idea, especially if you're just now starting out with babies. To one day have a tree filled with pictures of the people you love most... now that's a Christmas tree.

Also, the Showcase Pic this week is from June when we were Golden Ticket guests at the Rick and Bubba show. This is one of the most fun things you can do... EVER. And it's free. You get to sit from 7:00 a.m. until the show ends and then Rick, Bubba and company autograph things for you and take pictures with you. We took my nephew, Brad, and my niece, Katie. My other nephew, Zac, got sick in the parking lot and was unable to come to the show. However, Rick and Bubba talked about him several times during the show telling why he wasn't there, so that was pretty nice.

For all of you out there who are losing sleep worrying about my Christmas Card Count being in the 30s, worry no more! The official Christmas Card Count for this Monday is 53. That's right. Cards have just been pouring in, and as of this post, I haven't had to confiscate Austin's two cards or the six cards on Mikie's desk. We'll see how the next four days go.

Also, good news in the Readership Count department. The total for this past week was 149. The most hits I've ever had in one day is 26. This past Tuesday I had 30. Only 20 away from my goal of 50. And it's supposedly a very busy week for everyone... you know, with Christmas less than a week away and all. So, I am very pleased with that number considering some people are probably too busy to read blogs this past week and the week coming up. (I would just encourage you if you only have time to read one or two blogs, make sure you read mine first. Just a suggestion.)

I have found a faithful "commenter" in my friend, Robin. It is such a thrill to have a comment, and she obviously likes to comment, so we're a good pair. Oh, and by the way, this week in the Gallery there will be a picture of Robin. She doesn't know when and she doesn't know where, but she asked to be in the Gallery, and since she's gotten permission from her mom for her picture to appear on my blog, she's in! (By the way... Robin's a grown-up. When I re-read that paragraph it gave the impression of a much younger Robin. Just wanted to clear that up!)

I've included a picture from Austin's Senior Christmas Luncheon from last week. He took the camera, and all I asked of him was to take five pictures (one including him, and the others of friends who are important to him). The boy came home with 23 pictures. Good pictures, too. I am so proud. Instead of one scrapbook page, I can now create a three page spread.

Friday night, we went to the Palisades Park in Oneonta for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We had a great time. After we opened gifts, a couple of the grown-ups (thanks Adam and Mary) took all the kids through the park to look at the thousands and thousands of lights. When everyone came back, we played quarter bingo. All the kids play and my mom has a bag of quarters ($21 worth this year). When you get a bingo, you get a quarter. It is a fun game, and when Mikie found out we could recoup our gas money used to travel to Oneonta, he got in the game, too. We're not too proud to take money from the kid's table. We're not really sure if this is gambling or not, but we have decided to call it "another Christmas gift." We then played Buzzword (winning team got $50... just kidding). Mikie and I are having an unexpected date night this week with all our winnings (again, just kidding). If you don't have Buzzword as a family game, I highly recommend it. Fun, easy, and fast (unlike Monopoly).

I've also included a couple of Palisades pics in the Gallery for your perusal. (Good word. I had to use it all the time during my legal secretary days. It doesn't really come up that much now.)

Yesterday was the Faulkner Family Christmas in Oxford. It was wonderful having baby Matthew with us. He'll be one on January 2. It was a long day with a lot of people, but he was so pleasant and sweet. Precious little guy.

Before we opened our gifts, Brandi and Jared (parents of Matthew) were in charge of the devotion, and Brandi read the sweetest story (God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren). The main characters are a mama and baby polar bear... you've got to love polar bears. It tells the wonderful story of Christmas and God in an unique way. Beautiful illustrations, too. You know what I'm about to say... go pick this up for your Holiday Book Basket. It's a keeper.

While Matthew slept, we played a great new card game (Phase 10). I'm not just saying that because I won by an enormous amount (and won $25... do I have to keep say "just kidding?"), but it is a good card game, and once you've played through the first hand, it's not a hard game at all. We've put it on our list of "Games to Get" for Faulkner Family Game Night. I usually have the final say in the decision of what does or does not get on the list. If I don't like it (or there's no chance I can win), I can assure you, it's not going to be bought!

Also, you'll notice some pics from the Faulkner Family Christmas. I put a picture of Roxie and Savanna with the ornaments they made on Sunday. They are candy wreaths made with peppermints and Jolly Ranchers with a picture of the two of them in the middle, and cute, fuzzy penguin ornaments we made from kits from Target. I'll be adding more pictures throughout the week to the Gallery.

Now, for the party of the week.

Traveling Christmas Tea Party

Actually, this is the party I'm planning on having for our 12th Christmas Tea in two years, but I thought it could easily be adapted for a pre-teen or teenage girls' Christmas party.

You will need three willing moms. Again, the best number would be six to eight girls. You want them to be able to sit at a table together or sit at two tables of four. You would also have this party in the middle of the day. It will last between 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours depending on travel time.

The girls are to dress up in Christmas clothes, make-up, hair, etc. Christmas music should be playing at each home as they enter the door. The first house is the soup and/or salad house. A simple green salad with add-ins on the side and a nice hot soup in the crock pot (taco soup or potato soup) with crackers and cheese are the perfect dishes to serve at the first house. If you decide to use paper products, just make sure they are pretty and festive. Bless the food and each girl at House Number One. You should stay at this home for 25 - 30 minutes. Load up the girls, and head to House Number Two.

House Number Two should be ready to serve pretty sandwiches cut with cookie cutters in the shapes of trees, bells, angels, etc. Just make two or three varieties (ask a few of the girls what they like). A tray with sliced fruit (apples, oranges, grapes) and two or three different cheeses can be in the center of the table, also. This should be the house where hot tea is served. You can use Celestial Seasonings Tea which has a combination box of fruit teas. Pour each girl a tea cup of hot water and let them choose their flavor. Let the tea bag steep for a few minutes, and then let them add sugar and cream until they have it tasting the way they like. You should stay at this home for 25 -30 minutes. Load up the girls, and head to House Number Three.

House Number Three is the dessert house. You should have one or two types of cookies to serve, as well as a cake or pie. You can also have a piece or two of candy on each plate (Hershey's Kisses, etc.). After the girls have their dessert, House Number Three is the house where the devotion will be read. It can be a book (The Three Trees, The Crippled Lamb, etc.), or it can be straight from Luke 2 with each girl reading one or two verses going around the table. You began with a prayer, and it would be a great idea to end with a prayer. You will stay at this house 25 - 30 minutes. Load up the girls, and take them home.

NOTE: Something fun to do when you drop off a girl... let all of the other girls get out of the car to walk her to the door to say good-bye.

This party would take some planning, but if you think about just having it for 30 minutes in your home, AND giving the girls some quality time with each other along with prayer and devotion... well, it's a good thing to do.

Tomorrow I have another quick and easy recipe for you to try. Also, don't forget to check on Wednesday. This Seasonal Tradition has become one of my favorite "transition traditions," and it takes little or no planning, no mess and it's fun for everyone.

Have a great Monday, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.