Last December, our holiday shindig occurred in the ideal pandemic window. COVID’s Delta variant was receding, and Omicron hadn’t made its prompt appearance yet. In that little outbreak break, we gathered with friends for another cheeky tribute to the festive season.
Jason surprised me by buying us identical cookie jumpers for the party. The jury is still out on whether it was a pleasant surprise.
For this event, Jason and I ordered dinner from Bombay House supplemented by some delicious pastries from Gourmandise. There was a mix up at Bombay House, mostly due to a customer’s dishonesty. The outcome was that Jason C. got Jason S.’ big order, and our food was an hour late. Jason C., you are in trouble mister!
Our gathering may be silly, but we take the food seriously.No one new has been invited to our holiday gathering for many years. It’s the same crowd and the same antics… which means no one else would likely want to come.
As always, excellent food was just one layer of the revelries at our bash. The other layers weren’t yummy like buttercream and Swiss meringue but icky like embarrassing outfits and outlandish white elephants. A couple of the more creative white elephant gifts this time included a paper bag filled with a stack of fake cash and one hidden real $100 bill and a tiny bag stuffed with a fish ornament that came with a hidden fish/fish tank combo. I’d like to think my unicorn gift pack with “Feeling horny?” inked across the top was also hilarious, but “Feeling corny?” might have been more fitting.
I think most people would prefer an Oreo.
Everyone seemed thrilled to catch up with friends in person in an indoor space, but many were still nervous after a fall packed with COVID hospitalizations and deaths. Jason came down with a cold the evening before, and we quickly got him tested for COVID. Despite his negative result, he wore a mask most of the night to make others feel more comfortable. That was the phase we were all in. Yet, the familiar, latent apprehension did not decrease the liveliness or volume of those assembled. Hallelujah for that party amidst that pandemic pause!
Last Thanksgiving, there was much to be grateful for. Gatherings with family could safely be reinstituted, and the joy over that surpassed the mashed potato bliss. However, Jason and I didn’t let what we learned the previous year be forgotten amongst the delight of togetherness. Namely, a Thanksgiving meal with just the two of us is not only delectable but also highly enjoyable. Getting together with family is great. Getting away from family is also great. It’s funny how human beings can appreciate conflicting things, but why complain about having more to be grateful for?
I baked individual raspberry cheesecakes for my family’s dinner. Is it an insult or a compliment when no one believes you made something from scratch?
For decades, Thanksgiving has been a hectic and exhausting day for Jason and me. Trying to please both families regularly leaves us with overstuffed bellies and too much on our plates. This year, we split our meals with kin over three days, which was doable but tiring, nonetheless. I don’t think I can go back to squeezing in two massive gatherings on the same day. We love our families, but the stress and fatigue of trying to bake dishes, keep to unrealistic timelines, and still enjoy company is often too much. The ideal empty-stomach-space-to-cranberry-sauce-volume ratio is almost always exceeded, and that just ain’t right.
The taste of grandma’s pie, the smell of dad’s stuffing, or the crunch of uncle’s apple crisp can fill a mind instantly with potent nostalgia and recollections of cozy childhood assemblies.
Jason and I made sure we reserved a night during our holiday weekend for just the two of us to make and consume a homemade meal together. This banquet included all the favorites we tried the year before. Cooking a fancy meal with my hubby ticked my relaxing box not my heartburn box because that boy is the perfect addition to everything, even sweet potatoes.
I often try to snap a quick family photo at Thanksgiving despite the complaints such attempts sometime elicit.
So, here’s my post-isolation realization: I’m grateful for our families. I’m grateful holiday gatherings with them are again possible. I am also thankful for time spent away from them. Let us give thanks for all of life’s wonderful contradictions.
That familiar line describes our 2021 Halloween party experience well, but it isn’t the whole story. Here’s the rest.
Jason and I thought COVID concerns would be a thing of the past by our 2021 Halloween event. We were incorrect. 2021’s summer and fall brought new variants and fresh waves of uncertainty. Since the virus’ fall plans were still up in the air and out in the air, we decided a yard party was the only way to guarantee accommodating varying comfort levels and not spreading COVID faster than gossip on TMZ.
Intricate calaveras are common Dia de los Muertos decor. These were handcrafted in Puebla, Mexico.
Doing our shindig outdoors posed some unclear challenges. Namely, we’d never done an all-alfresco Halloween party at our house before, and it was hard to anticipate the extra nuances that might entail for an already-complicated function. Also, October weather is unpredictable. Would the conditions be reminiscent of a tropical island, glacial tundra, or perhaps a dark and stormy night? (Don’t think too hard about that one.)
This overwhelming stash consisted of all the party’s favors, handouts, and prizes. Yes, they nearly consumed a whole room.
The theme we had already decided on for the year didn’t work well outdoors, so we had to scratch it, but an appropriate motif presented itself in a roundabout way. I thought a backyard movie could be a great way to entertain the kiddos. The film would need to be appropriate for all ages and at least loosely tied to Halloween. Preferably, it would also link to the year’s theme. And the winner? Coco. With that, Dia de los Muertos became our focus. Yes, I am aware that Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are not the same holiday. They do have some common origins though, which is something I learned from my investigation into the subject.
The cutest favors at our party were these handmade miniature pinatas. We filled them with Mexican sweets.
That brings me to research, one of my favorite things. I did in-depth research on Dia de los Muertos. It was important to Jason and me that our spotlight on this celebration be about cultural appreciation not appropriation. I created a quiz to educate attendees on some of the origins and practices of Dia de los Muertos with prizes offered for the top scorers. Jason and I ordered party favors and decorations directly from central Mexico to put money back into the communities where the holiday originated. Food at our bash was provided by members of the Hispanic community through Super Taqueria and Panaderia Flores. I hope our efforts would make those of Mexican heritage comfortable sharing their holiday traditions.
Catrina, one of the most iconic symbols of Dia de los Muertos, originated from an etching by Mexican artist Jose Posada over 100 years ago.
That takes us from the determined theme to the undetermined weather. Rain was forecasted for the day of our party. We prepared for this possibility by putting up canopies throughout our backyard and a couple in the front. Additionally, we set out buckets filled with umbrellas ready for use. The showers did come but miraculously stopped an hour or two before our revelries commenced. The rain didn’t pick up again until just before the last of the guests had left. It was a stress-inducing mix of bad and good timing.
These festive banners came from Mexico. This arrangement of them came from our brains.
In the tumultuous weather, attendees were warmed through several methods. Moods were thawed by the cheerful banners and twinkling orange lights that counterpoised the broody humor of the windy evening. Innards were kept cozy with abundant hot chocolate and tea provided by a massive hot-water dispenser purchased just for this shindig. We went through 25 bags of tea alone; I lost count with the hot chocolate. External surfaces benefited from snugly blankets, which were available in bulk to movie watchers. We also had six propane heaters, a propane-fueled fireplace, and two infrared heaters all pumping out comfort at various locations throughout our yard. The infrared heaters paired with all the outdoor lighting overloaded our exterior circuits, and Jason had to rewire everything the day of the party, which was not an easy or quick task. That rewiring required our windows to emit strings of extension cords.
The movie tent was extremely popular. With heaters blasting warmth, soft blankets, plentiful snacks, and comfy ground chairs, why wouldn’t it be?
As we didn’t think our yard could accommodate our gathering’s usual 100 guests, we tried to keep the invitee list smaller this year. We ended up with about 60 attendees, which was perfect. It was enough to make our efforts feel worthwhile but not so much as to make our yard feel like an overpacked coffin.
So, while it was a stormy night, it wasn’t exactly dark. Radiant fireplaces, glittering lights, frenzied children, colorful crafts and games, flamboyant costumes, rowdy adults, toothsome cuisine, and thawing liquids all filled the gloom with vibrancy and geniality. We made the most of the turbulent evening offered us to welcome both partygoers and the dead.
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