Tonight we’re hosting a compatible bunch of friends for a Christmas Eve / Happy Chanukah gathering.

The invitation we extended said: “It’ll be an informal evening. We’ll whip up some hors d’oeuvres for your enjoyment, haul out some of John’s 2011 vintage homemade wine for a wine tasting plus soft drinks, and four of us will play about 30-minutes of fun holiday music.”

I planned a simple menu so it wouldn’t be a lot of work: sloppy joes on small buns, baked beans, fruit tray with dip, cheese spread with crackers, a relish tray with veggie dip, Koegel’s hotdogs in a red sauce, cranberry Jello sauce, Bacardi Rum Cake and a pumpkin pie. Several have asked what they can bring and I know we’ll have two salads and tray of cheese and sausage.

We have six bottles of wine chilling.

We’ll start with a little wine tasting and the cheeses, relishes, etc. Then we’ll serve the sloppy joes, beans, salads, and hotdogs. Desserts will be a little later while we’re playing a little holiday music.

The condo looks lovely. The decorations are simple (poinsetteas, a Christmas Tree, table decorations in both the living room and dining room, candles everywhere.)

We’ll have a video of a fireplace running on the TV and holiday music playing.

I still need to get dressed and make the sloppy joes. (Don’t want them to be ready too far in advance.)

Unfortunately the sun will have set when the party starts so no one will get to see the view and most of the crowd hasn’t been here before.

We wanted to include several other couples, but this bunch has been hanging out together so we figure we’ll invite other friends over between Christmas and New Years. One evening I think we’ll have six couples over, another night two couples, and probably others before we take the tree down. I’m sure we’ll have lots of food we’ll be able to serve again, and in fact, I’m setting some aside for those evenings.

So glad we’re finally going to “show-off” our place!!

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It was a pleasant evening. We had 16 guests. That included nine couples counting John and me. It was a nice way to celebrate the holiday. We ate a lot (had lots left). Fun conversations, and played a little music. Everyone left by 9:00. It took us about an hour to get the food put away and the place back in order.

Glad we opened our home. We’ll do it again very soon. This was one group we enjoy, but we also enjoy other circles of friends and neighbors. This was a large group that have been getting together with a lot this year, but we’d also enjoy inviting others to enjoy our hospitality. Old friends, new friends, we love ’em all!!!