The Brown Family Christmas Party

Welcome to the 44th Annual
Brown Family Christmas Party!

For our party this Saturday we sent invitations.  They were cards Chris had made and that I was able to change from "Thank you" cards to "You're invited". Gotta love paper scraps and a little glue :). It's rather embarrassing, but I was tired and had to get them in the mail the next day or the Party would be over before people got them, but there were SEVERAL typos :). Dad wrote the poem. It was kind of a funny story because I called him looking for a easy Roses are Red poem and he said he couldn't think of anything, but then called me back ten minutes later with this poem. I wrote it in all caps because that's what his handwriting looks like, but did you know that spell check doesn't check words in all caps?! Grrr. Oh well, it is still a funny poem and pretty impressive that he wrote it in only ten minutes! I'll attach it, and then you can laugh with me :).

Today's party started out with some delicious food!  Erica made tasty potstickers. Grandma brought crackers and cheese in a can (we're really up-town!).  Cindy and Chris brought Spinach Artichoke dip with yummy breads and veggies to dip. Grandma brought hot Little Smokies. Ian and Alex decorated cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. Lisa brought Pumpkin Chiffon pie (See, I knew we had some class in here somewhere!). Elaine brought donuts. Chris brought Christmas cups and plates and napkins (they say, "Naughty" and "Nice"). Loriel brought chocolate suckers that she made and decorated... I assure you they were as delicious as they looked (Alex, "Hmmm. Choclaty!).

 

For the skit portion we started out first with a hilarious dance skit that Tricia orchestrated for the grandkids. Thanks Daniel and Loriel for participating!  It makes all the difference when the little kids and the medium kids know that the big kids like to be silly :).  Here a few of my favorite shots:

Next, the Brad VonTrap Family singers sang, "Angels We Have Heard on High" in four-part harmony!  Beautiful, you guys!

Then, Erica, Ian and Alex sang, "Bissley, the Red-nosed Reindeer."

I wanted to be sure to give a shout out to Josh who was our backstage hand today. Note the black shirt and headset :).  He was a real big help letting everyone know when it was their turn to go on.

And after that, we heard from the Miss Harmonies singing, "I'm Dreaming of a Red-Neck Christmas."  So, so funny!  The only line I can remember is "Where tractors glisten and moo cows listen."  Of course, you are never paying attention to the WORDS when the Miss Harmonies sing!  he he he :)

We finished the program portion with a sing along Nativity.  There are about five scripture passages we read and Chris plays a Christmas song for each of them.  And as always, we finish with "I Wonder When He Comes Again," a song special to our family.

After the program, Ian and Alex and Joshua passed out gifts for the Christmas exchange.  Mom had the youngest child start and we worked our way up, so that she could watch everyone's expression.  And I assure you, some of them were priceless!

For me the family Christmas party means all the things that go with a party: skits and fiffybagillion conversations at once and lots and lots of food. But mostly, it means family.  There was a moment during one of the songs that I looked around and knew a perfect moment. Happiness and laughter and love.  That's the family Christmas party.  That's Christmas.

Merry Christmas!