Kathy and I realized that a party in our cozy Park Slope apartment was long overdue. So, we decided that a Christmas party (Yes, "Christmas" not "holiday"- we pulled an un-PC move) was in order. We gave people plenty of notice, so they could adequately prepare themselves for the "long" "epic" journey to a borough, and scheduled it early in the evening (start time 6pm) so people could frolic back to their island at a "reasonable" hour (keeping in mind that Kathy and I go into the city 6-7 days a week, and often stay there until well past midnight on weekends).
We prepared. And by that I mean we bought our first ever Christmas tree. Slightly taller than me and a mere $20 (in a city where trees often go for $10/foot). We bought a wreath too (which, interestingly enough cost more than the tree), and hung it with care. And yes, we had stockings. I know, what twenty-somethings hang stockings in their New York apartment? We watched White Christmas while trimming our tree with decorations made by none other than Kathy. And we even found a nice holiday themed drink entitled "Drink and be Berry." We bought food. We baked. We cooked. Basically, we weren't messin around.
And whaddaya know, people came! They brought food, they brought drinks, and they even dressed festively without us asking. Shocking, I know. At one point I think there were more than 50 people squeezed into our place. This was the one night I was happy that we were lazy and didn't take out our living room air conditioner yet, because boy did we need it.
And oh what a night! The Yankee Swap went over very well, and people got really into it with their choice of gifts (side bar: In Yankee Swap each person brings a wrapped gift, everyone gets a number, and each person takes a gift as their number comes up, and they can choose to keep it or swap with someone (the other person has no choice in the matter) for their gift. Only a northerner would devise such a sneaky game). Gifts people contributed included: Jelly Belly Jelly Bean dispenser, The Clapper (yes, like "clap on"), edible underwear, a Sponge Bob Square Pants tin filled with popcorn, The Christmas Story on DVD (among other DVDs), a pine-cone tree and cigarettes, a dashboard Hula Dancer Girl, and a box of crayons and coloring book. I am proud to say that my contribution, a hardcover New York in Pictures book was stolen almost 10 times throughout the game.
As the night continued and more food and alcohol were consumed, some pretty quality pictures were snapped, a dance party broke out, and basically a lot of laughter was heard through the aprtment. At 11:30 we had a little visit from our Building Supervisor's Son (BSS), who had apparently been called by someone complaining of the "noise." Now, I can say with some degree of certainty that the scent wafting out of my neighbor's door when I went out to speak with BSS was the distinct smell of a specially crafted plant sometimes referred to by the Mary J. I'm gonna go out on a limb here... Smoking pot: Illegal. Dance party at 11:30 on a SATURDAY: Not Illegal. However, despite the influence of the Rum Cider encouraging me to speak freely, I bit my tongue about this point, and instead just smiled and apologized. Such is life.
I feel sincerely blessed to have so many friends who came "all" the way to Brooklyn to share in our party. And because I truly enjoy playing hostess and bringing people together, it was basically the greatest night ever. But you know how I can objectively tell it was a great night? The edible underwear are still hanging from a hook on our ceiling.
Kathy is so going to kill me for writing that.
Pictoral recap (I narrowed down 80 pictures to give you the top 10):
Our tree!
Wesley wore a tux. Love it.
My girls!
Jay and Bradley. Yes, both girls. And roommates. And two of the coolest people I know. Like uber cool. I hope they put this picture on their fridge, cause it's a keeper.
This is Neil after his NYC picture book was stolen and he was given underwear in return.
We ended up with wine and cigarettes for our Yankee Swap gifts. Awesome.
And this is what became of our cigarettes. Hot.
How is it that there are 5+ people in our crew from Colorado? Plus Colin, because even though he's not from there, his name starts with CO.
So happy together.
One of the great group pics of the night, complete with the edible underwear and Josh's DVD of Elf.I anticipate this will be the first of many quality parties in our humble abode. Up next, perhaps Chili Cook-Off? Hmmmm...
1 comment:
It's so funny - different regions all have a different name for the game (plus I'm a dork and enjoy rhymes), and I've lived in all of them. Northeast: Yankee Swap. South: Dirty Santa. West: White Elephant.
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