Holiday entertaining

Last Wednesday I hosted the Strongsville Women’s League Holiday Party. Usually we have this event in a restaurant, but it’s always been cramped quarters with no room to mingle or socialize. So I volunteered our house. I figured if we could handle a wedding for 65 people, surely half that number would be no problem? There was one small problem: I had less than a week to get all my Christmas stuff set up, including the village, which sometimes takes two or three evenings. The stars must have all been in the right alignment this year: everything went up without a hitch. Although I did sacrifice one tree (in the family room). It would have been too crowded. The weather, which is always iffy this time of year in NE Ohio, cooperated too. We had 27 people show up and for awhile they all assembled in the kitchen! The food was wonderful, and everyone had a good time.

That's me making punch.
How do you fit 25 people into one kitchen . . .

One of our traditions is a partnership with the Strongsville Food Bank to help provide gifts for the children of families who rely on the food bank throughout the year. These are just a portion of the gifts we collected that night.