Mom's parties were epic. They always were. The guests always left beaming and going home with an array of items Mom would pack them up with.
She was never someone who wanted to "half ass" anything, and parties were no exception. She was going to get the best quality food and decorations, and she never forgot to find entertainment.
The Christmas parties were every year as Aimee and I grew up. They were partly for making appearances for Dad and his executive lifestyle, but also they were partly for Mom to have a mission to focus her creativity and craftsmanship.
Usually, though, Mom didn't start putting the party together until a week or two before (save the invitations). The house would become chaotic and we girls knew not to cross Mom during these times.
It was partly a wild prep because it wasn't just about decorating the house with tinsel and a big Christmas tree - Mom would make so much of the party by scratch. She made a gingerbread village from scratch, which meant she was making and molding and baking pounds upon pounds of gingerbread, carefully building the houses with sweets and frosting with painstaking precision so as no house were to look haphazard.
She would make each individual goody-bag for guests. Sometimes they were graham cracker house ornaments. Sometimes they were handmade chocolate pops. Sometimes they were other fun and crafty things. They were never just simple, store-bought kitsch items. They were always perfectly homemade.
She also would make some of the food days in advance and freeze them in the outdoor sunroom/porch, when there was snow. Our freezers and cupboards would be packed with food she would store up for the holidays. Some she would mail order, a lot of it she would still buy from stores all over. It was a lot of people and she had a policy in parties that she had to keep feeding people the whole party.
She always got a great Santa, and had him give the children "magic" gold coins and an envelop filled with "magic sparkles" that the children had to put on their driveways on Christmas Eve so he could find their homes faster.
She was never someone who wanted to "half ass" anything, and parties were no exception. She was going to get the best quality food and decorations, and she never forgot to find entertainment.
The Christmas parties were every year as Aimee and I grew up. They were partly for making appearances for Dad and his executive lifestyle, but also they were partly for Mom to have a mission to focus her creativity and craftsmanship.
Usually, though, Mom didn't start putting the party together until a week or two before (save the invitations). The house would become chaotic and we girls knew not to cross Mom during these times.
It was partly a wild prep because it wasn't just about decorating the house with tinsel and a big Christmas tree - Mom would make so much of the party by scratch. She made a gingerbread village from scratch, which meant she was making and molding and baking pounds upon pounds of gingerbread, carefully building the houses with sweets and frosting with painstaking precision so as no house were to look haphazard.
She would make each individual goody-bag for guests. Sometimes they were graham cracker house ornaments. Sometimes they were handmade chocolate pops. Sometimes they were other fun and crafty things. They were never just simple, store-bought kitsch items. They were always perfectly homemade.
She also would make some of the food days in advance and freeze them in the outdoor sunroom/porch, when there was snow. Our freezers and cupboards would be packed with food she would store up for the holidays. Some she would mail order, a lot of it she would still buy from stores all over. It was a lot of people and she had a policy in parties that she had to keep feeding people the whole party.
She always got a great Santa, and had him give the children "magic" gold coins and an envelop filled with "magic sparkles" that the children had to put on their driveways on Christmas Eve so he could find their homes faster.
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