All That Planning and Prepping…And Now It’s Ovah!

It’s 1:37 a.m. and believe it or not – my house is clean. There are only four dishes in the sink that need washing after a good soak. The rest are clean or being washed in the dishwasher as I type. The 2008 White Elephant Party is officially over and from all indications it was a big success.

As the first guests arrived at 6:10 p.m. I was just finishing my very last task: handwashing and drying the teacups I was going to set out. In past years we would scramble at the last minute, but this year was smooth sailing and as I kept telling a doubtful Denis all day – we were so far ahead of schedule that it was no big deal for me to leave the house at 4 p.m. to go get my hair done.

In the end we had 30 guests, which just might be our highest total to attend one of our WE parties. I can remember having 27 people before, but not 30. AND I realized after everyone but Ted and Anne were gone that we had six no-shows – three couples who RSVPd they would come, but then didn’t. The thought of six more people is mind-boggling. We would NOT have had room for them. *lol* I can’t wait until we build a house in a few years – I’m not even kidding when I’m telling you that I’m going to design an entertaining space that can hold up to 40 people for a White Elephant game. We had a nice mix of people – church, both our workplaces, the neighborhood, old family friends, and general folks we know. Everyone seemed to mix really well, which was awesome.

The kids behaved well, although they did NOT want to go to bed at 8 p.m. and protested the entire time. They didn’t get underfoot too much. Well, I take that back. At some point I was literally dragging CootieBoy around because he latched onto my foot and wouldn’t let go. And he was STRONG because no amount of jerking would get him off me. Fortunately, Dana’s husband came to my rescue and began playing with CB to keep his attention away from me for a while.

The White Elephant game itself was a blast – there were some GREAT gifts (both nice ones and craptastic ones). I was number 19 and stole this really cute foot massage slipper thing – and managed to hold onto it until the next-to-last round!!! Once it was stolen, I in turn stole a ceramic pug that Denis had originally “won” but had stolen by someone else. It’s currently taking up residence in our foyer. I told Denis he finally got the pug he’s always wanted, but without the expensive vet bills, dog vomit, shedding and poop in the backyard. Denis one a singing frog that was actually stolen three times in the game – which was hilarious. We actually had a lot of steals which always makes the game fun. In fact, the very last round resulted in six or seven steals in a row before bringing the game to an end.

The food was well received – we made just enough that I have enough leftovers to take to Nicole at work on Monday and snack on over the next couple of days. Normally we have enough to last us a week, but this time around we made just the right amount. And yes, I’m already planning next year’s menu. We had a couple people ask about a potato hors d’oeurves that we made last year, but we didn’t make it this year. But since they asked, we’ll bring it back next year.

And now it’s time for me to go to bed. I’m skipping church in the morning but Denis is going to go. We’ll be meeting up with Ted and Anne for a brunch of some kind. I volunteered to make it (I’d make creme brulee french toast which is a perfect post-party breakfast), but I think we’ve decided to go out instead.