Christmas Party 2007

The 4th Annual Baylight Christmas Party and White Elephant Gift Exchange was a blast!  Here are some highlights:

Each LTG contributed fun desserts and snacks from various countries of the world.  Our group lovingly chose Canada, an often under-represented entity, especially considering that it is the world’s second largest country.  Sinc and Christine put it upon themselves to make some nanaimo bars, which consist of a chocolate fudge top, a vanilla custard center, and graham cracker crumb and walnut bottom.  With no baking skills whatsoever, I made myself useful by making all of the cute little flags.

The Otts rented some patio heat lamps for the occasion.  Amazingly, it made the outdoors actually warmer than the entryway back into the house, or at least some (who stood very close to the patio heat lamps) claimed.  Some may feel that I went a little overboard with the exposure, to the effect that the house appears to… have a VERY hearty flame in the fireplace.

The snacks that celebrated the nation of Israel included fried latkes, applesauce, and of course, donuts.  (Three plates of it, in case you were inclined to miss one of them.)

Coca Cola from Mexico.  Apparently, this is the “good stuff,” meaning that they use real sugar in the mix.  The last time I had Coke from a bottle was when I was six.  One day mom and I came back from grocery shopping and every single Coke bottle in the trunk had broken and spilled its contents.  So this was a treat!

I tried really hard to get a photo of Natalie smiling.  I think this blank stare was about as much as this little princess would give me.

Here’s my rendition of the tree in all its splendor.

The meatballs created quite a stir in the kitchen.  Soooo good!

Oh no, which one is the real Eric?

At some point, I realized all the kids disappeared.  Ah, the digital babysitter, at your service.

Hanah gave a dramatic wave to declare the beginning of the white elephant gift exchange.  Let the games begin!

Not far into the game, Dong shamelessly wrenches away the 3-pack of dynamo LED flashlights from an innocent man holding a baby.  After a valient struggle, the flashlights were relinquished by John.  The baby was unharmed in the conflict.

Dorothy uncovers the Best. Gift. Ever.  You can see from all the shocked reactions that every onlooker was jealous.  Except Adoniah, who remained unimpressed .

Eddie shows Hanah the new piece of paper with a picture of IKEA furniture that he won.  See how she is overcome by emotion.  Clearly, this is the piece of paper that Hanah has dreamed about all these years.

Yes, much better than an empty carseat shell, Adoniah uncovers the Complete Book of Massage.  Bet he’s never had such instructional bedtime stories before.

Well, that’s all for now.  If you want to see the full collection of my photos from the evening, check out my gallery!  And remember, if you didn’t care for your gift, you only need to wait until next year to “regift” it.

What’s the best or worst white elephant gift you have ever received … or given?  =]