My wife was first asked by my father who was our Deacon of Fellowship at the time, to “help” him organize a “Church Christmas Party” back in the early 80’s. This “help” took on the form of decorating the church building as well as cooking for the party. My part was one of “go-fer” and “Chief Assistant.”
When we came to Central we were asked to bring this tradition to them and so it took on it’s latest form this past Saturday. This time the affair included enough prime rib stuffed with garlic and Alice Springs Chicken to feed almost 100 people! Did I mention that Barb also made salad, potatoes, bread pudding (this ain’t your father’s bread pudding by the way) and (for the WW folks) sugar free pumpkin pudding. To say that the activity around our home on Saturday morning was hectic would be an understatement. No, it didn’t get as bad as an episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” but I was compelled to address Barb as “Yes Chef” and “No Chef” a few times during the day.
As with anything at church, none of this could get accomplished without the help of good friends helping us decorate, clean, set up, serve, and then clean again following the party.
The gift exchange we always play is one of the highlights of the evening, especially when you play with almost 100 people. Our version is a no-holds barred, unlimited number of times a gift can be taken, will the guys hold on to their “Man Card” Gift Exchange Game. To facilitate things we had 2 people go at a time. Each year there is always a “hot gift” that is taken multiple times. This year’s version was a cleaver calendar entitled, “The Men of Central.” This creative individual took our 12 deacons and superimposed their faces on the bodies of guys who looked like they had been on same stuff most of Major League Baseball apparently has been using.
As I reflect over our quarter century plus experience with Church Christmas Parties it somewhat reminds me of our experience with church itself. When we first started going to these parties, we were just attendees with no responsibilities. We came, we enjoyed, and then we left. Then we transitioned into taking on some responsibility and ultimate a task became a beloved ministry.
God bless all of you and as Greg said in a previous post of his, I’ll give you the conservative Holiday greeting, may you have a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
: 9:32 AM 
