I’m starting early on my New Years’ resolution.
I know you are thinking it’s not 2020 yet, so what the heck? But I’ve always been an early adopter, an overachiever if you will. When I get my teeth in something, it is hard to let it go.
This year, I resolve to see my friends more often. That’s it. I have some small goals I want to achieve my faith, with our finances, but friendship and fellowship are right up there on the top of the list.
You may remember last week when I wrote about seeing your people more often. To make time, to forget why it won’t work and do it anyway. Hence, my first “Crappy Dinner Party”.
The dinner party went so well, I got a little fancy-dancy and invited my besties over for a gingerbread house competition. It took a little bit more work than a crappy dinner party, but not a ton.
The hard part is to invite, plan it, and put yourself out there. But do it anyway.
In a group text, I asked them to come. I talked a little trash about my gingerbread house decorating skills. I told them I wouldn’t be cooking. I asked my guests to come with a gingerbread house already assembled.
They did the rest. Someone volunteered to get the pizza. The other said she’d pick up chips and juice. (But she also brought a can of easy cheese and crackers. This little detail was the highlight of my night and instantly reminded me of my childhood. I was transported to 1995!)
The only real work I did was spending about a half-hour picking up candy and supplies at the dollar store for everyone to use on decorating.
That’s it. It’s not hard or elaborate. For the love, don’t make it about place settings with name cards, eggnog, and real china. Those are the kinds of parties people can’t wait to leave.
Here is how our competition panned out:
-One couple brought the barbie dream house of gingerbread houses. It was large and hot glued onto cardboard.
-I made two smallish ones out of small graham crackers and my oldest daughter eye-rolled my efforts SOOO HARD when she saw the GINORMOUS GINGERBREAD house roll in. We did a remodel with some extra graham crackers ( and lasagna noodles when we ran out) to make it bigger.
-Another couple brought a Sam’s pre-made house.
In the end, we used up almost all the candy (or ate it) and then we took pictures and asked the facebook world to vote by likes. The pre-made gingerbread house took home bragging rights, made by the creative genius from Jaime and Sloane.
The snow was blowing outside, we were cozy inside, the kids played together well, and you most definitely can bake TWO Papa Murphy’s pizza in the oven at a time.
I laughed or smiled the whole time. I may not have smiled in the prior two weeks. I think my face forgot how. It was such an easy, simple thing to do. When things are looking bleak, you are feeling less than your best, or you just can’t seem to find the light, what do you do?
I really hope you pray. That’s what I do. And then I surround myself with people who get me. AND people who bring me easy cheese.
I really hope you all have the best holiday memories with your families.
Love,
Stef