Holiday Open House I

Holiday Open House I



Erika & Grinch



December 28, 2008

Kathy & Fiona

Our third annual Christmas Eve Open House was another smashing success. We had a record number of friends, neighbors, and family join us as over 200 people stopped by for food and libations during the evening. We are so fortunate to live in such a wonderful community with so many great friends and it was such a pleasure to share our holidays with so many of them.

The Reynolds

Sid, Carol, Michael & Deborah

We were forewarned that due to the struggling economy that many people who might otherwise travel during the holidays would be staying close to home this year and that our crowd would increase accordingly. I have no idea if that was the case, but we had by far our largest crowd ever.

Heather & Joyce





Thankfully we had some assistance. I’d like to thank our friend Joe Bove for his assistance in food preparation. We went through 2 large hams, a 15 lb. Turkey, 6 large platters from Publix and a large amount of additional food and deserts that people brought. We also went through 3 cases of wine, 5 cases of beer and a case of juice boxes for the large contingent of children who joined us.

Sol, Florrie, Barbara & Michael

Izzy



Annie, Katie & Abby

To accommodate the rush, we hired a bar-tender this year and she did a terrific job keeping everyone happy. Thanks Andrea. We also had a special appearance for the first hour or so from the Grinch, who posed for photos and handed out candy to those children not terrified by the large green creature. It was a great addition and added to the festive feel of the early portion of the party.

Jake, Pete & Eithne

Kathy, Olivia, Emma, Deb & Rob

Linda & Jason

We had a wide range of ages represented, especially early on as the house and yard were filled with a mob of young children while a more mature crowd watched the frenzy from the relative safety of the porch. At times the crowd was so thick that you couldn’t even walk across the yard. Kathy & I had a hard time getting around to see everyone, so if we didn’t get a chance to spend much time with you, please forgive- it was quite a hectic scene.

Craig, DeeVon & Mark

Joel

Sy, Florie & Erika

Kathy, Gryffyn & Grinch

We were especially gratified to have so many people bring along their out of town family and friends. We really enjoy getting to meet all these new people and were thrilled that they choose to spend a portion of their holiday with us. There were a number of other similar holiday parties taking place, so many people were simple making the rounds and we are pleased that they stopped by.

Nadene's parents



I took so many photos that I am going to break up this blog into two entries. I hope that you enjoy them. To all our friends who joined us, thanks so much for sharing your holidays with us. If you didn’t make it this year, if we are in town for the holidays next year, chances are good that we will host another holiday open house. Hope to see you there!

Rick, Kathy & Karen

Kathy, Fiona & Rob