Nutcrackers, Sweet Treats, Gouda Cheese...

and everything in between!
Dawna held her annual Christmas party on the 21st, complete with special guest!
It was beautiful! Words fail me, but I hope pictures won't!
I couldn't stay away from the table!

Nutcracker men, name cards, red, gold, green! Oh, beautiful Christmas glory!

The nutcrackers definitely add a touch of their own!

The decorations hinted at the identity of the special guest! But none of us could guess!

We had our own present at each place, and they crackled and wiggled with a delightful something inside!

When they were able to pry me away from the table, we played games! And they were hilarious!

First, there were stars hidden all about the living room. We had to find as many as we could in a minute.

I got pencils as a prize! A writer is always needing those! :D

Next, we divided the stars and ourselves into two teams. The goal was to get as many stars in the bowl as possible in thirty seconds...

by sucking them up with a straw and dropping them inside!

It got quite interesting! I think Mom was the only one who got them all in!

Your back pocket is such a handy place to store pencils!

Does the straw taste good, Hannah? ;)

Next game! Santa Claus Relay . . . I feel I must explain further. Hold on, it will be alright, I promise.

We had a pair of boots, a white T-shirt, a pillow to stuff up underneath it, and a Santa Claus hat. We had to put it all on, run to the far wall and run back, then relay all the stuff onto the next person on your team.

My team won again. :)

Me thinks the "Obnoxious Little Elf" would be a good title for this pic!

His elevator doesn't go clear to the top . . . "The Big Little Elf"!

Next, the Rudolph's Nose game. You had to blow up all the balloons, then stuff them inside the nylons. When you were done, someone had to put it on their head and yell, "Rudolph!"

Hannah's team won! :)

Daddy had to try it out though! You look REALLY good, Dad! ;)

Afterwards, balloons were everywhere!

Next game, there was a Christmas story and you had to fill in the blanks with the proper words!

We couldn't keep from laughing! Someday, perhaps, I'll let you read the story . . .

Ah, now waiting for dinner! I couldn't get away from it again! Dawna is a genius for interior designing! She should seriously think of that as a career. Dawna, would you come help me design my house??

It was just so beautiful!

This is my spot! :) We got to keep the little nutcrackers at our plates.

Now, we had a wonderful dinner! Sausage, cheese, and olive . . . thingies. :) Delicious, even if I can't remember their name!

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you . . . Gouda cheese! Now this comes where my family comes from! Holland! It was REAL CHEESE! Let me tell you!

This has to be my favorite set up of food! Isn't Dawna wonderful!

Oh, these were delicious! Cream cheese muffins with raspberry filling and little chocolate chips!

Pine cone cracker dip, with almonds! I didn't know it was dip until after I ate a chunk of it! It was good without crackers, too! :D And we had chicken wings with an oh so wonderful sauce!

We turned out all the lights and basked in the lovely red candle light as we ate! We had a glorious evening!

Oh, and the special guest was the movie, "Little Lord Fauntleroy". We went around singing, "O Them Golden Slippers" all evening after that!

Happy New Year everyone!