Annual Neighborhood Christmas Party (2016)

 Hello Everyone and Happy Monday!

Yesterday we had our annual neighborhood house party and it was such a great time!

I've spent the past week or so making sure I have everything decorated & pretty to help get us all in that holiday spirit.

The past 3 days Mark & I have spent a lot of time prepping the food for our party.  Mark is an amazing cook and always makes way more than we need but he likes to have a variety and everyone always enjoys it!  If you leave this house hungry at the end of this party ... it's no ones fault but yours because heaven knows there's enough food to feed an army!  LOL

 This years menu consisted of:

Pierogies w/onions

Sausage links w/peppers & onions

Bar-B-Q Meatballs & mini weenies

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Beef Dip

Artichoke & Crab Dip

Mushroom/Heart of Palm Salad

Shrimp Cocktail

Christmas Deviled Eggs

Cheese Ball

Cheese/Meat/Cracker Tray

Veggie, Pickles & Olive Tray

Christmas Pasta Salad

Crab Bites

Fresh Fruit Salad

Pepperoni Bread / dipping sauce (brought by friends Lona & Gary White)

Then of course desserts:

All time favorite - Peanut Butter Fudge

Delicious Apple cake

Cranberry Bread w/cream cheese

Apricot bar cookies & Raspberry bar cookies (brought by daughter Carolyn Franjko)

And plenty of Pop, Beer & Wine to drink!

Like I said ... Mark enjoys putting out a SPREAD for friends and family.   

Everyone is so busy throughout the year ... so this has become at least one time of the year when we can all get together and 'catch up' on what's happening in our lives.  And of course, eat some awesome food while we're at it!  LOL

Most of the neighborhood kids aren't little kids anymore ... actually most of them are in college and happy to report all are doing quite well in their studies!!

So, we only had one 'little one' to entertain ... little Miss Lily Shamp!  What a sweetheart!  And, once she warmed up to all the people she had a great time running around through the house giving High Fives to everyone along the way.

 We were very fortunate to have as many people as we did because it had snowed over night and continued to snow throughout the day making our 'long distance' (1-2 hours) family & friends having to deal with accident delays and slippery roads to get here.  Thank God they all made it here and back without incident!  We did unfortunately miss seeing our 'old neighborhood friends' the Beelmans who due to the weather didn't attempt the drive in from Michigan.  They had even MORE snow & icy conditions so I'm just as happy to see them when the weather is a little better and know they are safe.

Here are a few other fun photos! 

It's hard to believe, but last year the weather was SO NICE, we actually set the tables up out on the deck and fired up the grill ... adding hot dogs and burgers to the menu!  NOT SO MUCH THIS YEAR!!   LOL   With snow in the forecast I thought I'd better prepare for WET shoes/boots and picked up one of those boot holders at Target the other day.

Every year there is a PILE of shoes as you walk in the door but this year we had to be careful and try to keep all the WETNESS in a couple locations ... hence the more organized line up of shoes & boots!  LOL

Then of course our little Miss Lily ... what fun she was having but at the end, she just ran out of steam and fell asleep on the couch while watching a video on her mom's phone.  God Love Her!!

Well that's it for me today!  

I thought I'd rest and put my feet up today after all the evening event excitement but instead I'm headed over to PA to help my mom do a little decorating and put up a small tree for her.  So ... off I go and I'll catch you next time!

Hope everyone is having a FABULOUS start to their week!

As always, thanks for stopping by and . . .