MGCC Christmas 2017

December 3, 2017

Four o'clock in the afternoon ... and everything was ready!

A log in the fire and candles lit.

Each guest's place prepared ..

It was so much fun to do this together!

Every Christmas he strings literally thousands of lights on the outside trees

and puts up a star on top of the weeping cypress in the back yard ...

while I hang garlands on railings and mantles inside.

One day on our walk in the park, we saw a downed birch branch 

which he picked up to do my bidding.

It became part of the table setting along with

burlap runners, garlands, a variety of candle holders from my stash,

cinnamon sticks, fresh greens, twine and pine cones.

I love mixing the woodsy look with the elegant.
A girl can be both, right?

The second table, the one that  faces the back yard ...

and after the candles are lit.

We started with a sangria ...

 and a variety of fun appies ... 

Julie's tortilla roll ups, 

hot artichoke dip with multi grain chips

 nuts and dried fruit brought by Ellen

and Char's red pepper jelly tarts, by Kathy

Judy and Elmer prepared individually plated Mediterranean salads.

Our German buffet menu consisted of

Rouladen

Bev's Spaetzle with caramelized onions

German Fried Potatoes

Red Cabbage

roasted beans and carrots

cucumber salad

Broetchen

I can't believe how serious we can look while getting our food

but I know that in reality there were lots of smiles!

After dinner the girls headed to the living room

where we did our gift exchange game ...

this year, something shared from our kitchens.

Everyone came with one gift and left with one ...

a collection of homemade candied nuts, salsa, jam,

sugar cookies under a dome, meringue glazed cookies in a jar,

tiny bread loaves with a citrus, ginger infused honey, 

roasted coffee beans and even homemade sausage.

We all knew we did not need another present but

making something to share and enjoy was a fun challenge.

We finished with Marg's TV famous hazelnut roll
and Lovella's delicious Black Forrest Cake ...
and a lot of coffee and lingering.
We can't believe that nine years ago we hardly knew each other.

And here we are ... sisters of the heart,
missing Char and Betty,
but always the Mennonite Girls now.
I've gotten used to the label and it's all good.