A little birdie…

  

Our annual Christmas Open House was a huge success. 

     I’m the glitzy red number in the middle

Getting ready for the party is about as much fun as the party itself.  We start weeks ahead of time, Patti getting her house ready, decorating and getting all of the fancy party dishes out, and me getting the invitation ready to go.  And of course there is the decision of what to make.  Whatever it is, it has to be fancy and different.  We make things like Asparagus Ham Wraps, Bacon Water Chestnuts, Stuffed Dates, Marinated Mushrooms, and Stuffed Mushrooms.

All of that food was lip smacking good!

The morning of the party we get together for the Booze Run.  It is amazing how many friends you can make when you are tooling through Wal Mart with shopping carts full of beer, rum, vodka, gin, bourbon, scotch and all of the mixers.  Several men were ready to go home with us.  I thought it was because we were so good looking, but Patti clued me in otherwise.

Not only did our guests arrive, but a little birdie had tipped off the local newspaper about the Open House’s 10th Anniversary… and they showed up!

   

The little birdie, Rita, always thinks of doing nice things.  She is just that way.  Thank you Rita!  This isn’t the best picture of you, but somehow you managed, for the most part, to stay out of the camera lens.

 

At some point, many of the party goers retired to the downstairs to sing traditional Christmas carols.

After most of the guests had gone home, Patti (stupidly) pulled out the tequila and a few of the more adventuresome started doing shots.  No, I was not among them!  I learned a long (long, long…) time ago that shots and Deanna do not mix.  The big guy lived down the hill and could slide home.  The skinny guy also lived in the neighborhood, but up the hill, so his wife might have had to drag him home.  I’m not too sure how the middle guy made it home…  Fortunately, Patti was already home and able to just crawl into bed.

  

We even prepared a cookbook of our favorite recipes to give to the guests as a 10th Anniversary keepsake.  (I have to wonder how many of those cookbooks will ever be looked at again.)

So there you have it.  Once again, a successful, fun, wore me out, open house.  I woke up the next morning with a rip roaring headache… a head cold.  I’m pretty sure a hang over would have been better.  I could have slept that off.  A cold is not quite so easy to kick.

For anyone interested, here is the New Tribune article:

RULE NO. 1:  Don’t bring anything to this party

Parishioners celebrate 10th anniversary of holiday tradition (by Leah Killebrew)

What began 10 years ago as a way to say thank you to church parishioners has grown into an annual tradition.

Jim and Deanna Haslag, Gerard and Patti Dudenhoeffer, and Gary and Belinda Heimerics – all members of the St. Andrew Catholic Church in Holts Summit – hosted their 10th Annual Christmas Open House on Saturday.

”We invite the folks who are already giving a lot in terms of their commitment to the church to say ‘thank you’ for all that they do,” Belinda said.

”At a time when most employers are foregoing their Christmas parties, these three couples open their hears and pocketbooks to host an elaborate party every year,” Rita Buschjost said.

Buschjost was among approximately 65 couples invited to the festivities this year.

There is only one rule:  you cannot bring anything to the party,” Buschjost said.

Deanna, Patti and Belinda prepared heavy hors d’oeuvres to serve on their finest china and crystal glassware.

We wanted to be the Martha Steward-style traditional party – very festive, but very homemade,” Belinda said.

Everybody has raved about the appetizers we’ve provide,” Heimericks said.

”We thought this was something we could do to make the 10th anniversary special,” she added.  “This party is one way that we as parishioners can say ‘thank you’ for what others have done.”