Christmas with Great Friends

Tonight Aaron and I hosted our "gourmet group" as we celebrated Christmas early. Our group is a little more scattered than Cheryl's. We don't get together as regularly as they do, something we need to work on, and our food isn't really gourmet. We don't care if it's take out Chinese or pizza, we just love catching up with old, dear friends. Our group consists of Aaron and I, Betsy and Sted Seavey, who have been best friends since high school (over 35 years!), Joanne and Hank Metz, and Debie and Mickey Chabot, from Wells. I first met them when Kit went to be babysat in their neighborhood in 1979! We shared a lot of good times as our children grow up together. They were my support during my divorce, and more recently as I travel on my cancer journey, and Kit's "other adoptive families". Hank and Mickey were also my "go to guys" when I needed something fixed or had an emergency as a single Mom.
Tonight we decided to make it an English Christmas dinner. It was a lot of work, but a great time. We decorated the table places with ornaments with each guest's name in glitter, and had English "crackers" on each plate.

For those who haven't ever popped a cracker, you pull the two ends, it makes a loud noise, and a sprinkle of confetti and treats fly out. Everyone gets a paper crown, a small toy, and a fortune or riddle.Here are a few shots of us in our fine crowns.






For dinner we served roast beef and gravy with Yorkshire pudding, an English and family favorite,which reminded me of the fun we had when Hilda visited from England and give me a lesson in preparing "authentic" Yorkshire pudding (miss you, Hilda). We also had potato, and corn. It was great!
For dessert I made a Mint Mountain White Chocolate bundt cake. It is a recipe I got this fall, and Hank made for us to try for Thanksgiving. Thanks, Hank, for sharing. He bought a bundt pan that makes it in the shape of mountain peaks/trees. We also had vanilla ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce.

It was a great night. It really reminded me of the true meaning of this season of giving. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of buying, wrapping and decorating that we sometimes forget to celebrate whats really the best gift...the gift of support and life-long friendship. I hope you all receive these "gifts" this holiday season. Merry Christmas! Nancy