Cookies and Sweaters and Booze, Oh My!
Season's Greetings from the Crescent City! I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to put up on Paul's blog once more as he enjoys a far-deserved damage.
So we're ten days faraway from Christmas and I must admit that I am woefully unprepared for the vacation. I currently paintings at the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown New Orleans, and even as I have been inundated with decorations, carols and festively dressed excursion revelers in view that Thanksgiving, I have now not been capable of get into the spirit of the season. Any of you who have ever labored in the service enterprise understand that the vacations can be one of the maximum worthwhile however work-weary instances of the yr. While anyone comes out to revel in meals, drink and holiday a laugh, you are in fee of making sure the meals and liquids hit the desk in a timely fashion even as you help the merriment, regardless of the truth that 32 vintage girls all need separate assessments and want you to seize all of their a laugh on film whilst coping with six other tables.
I was able to attend a vacation feature remaining night as a visitor, compliments of my dear friend Brandon, who invited me to accompany him to his enterprise's Christmas birthday party. We indulged in an stylish affair of foods and drinks (I LIVE for an open bar!) and had the opportunity to revel in some jazz after dinner. The nighttime helped me to get inside the excursion spirit and jogged my memory of a laugh instances of Christmases past.
Brandon and I used to stay in St. Petersburg, FL, and the 2 people, along side Paul, usually had a grand time across the vacations. Stopping through Brandon's residence the other night for a night of wine and vacation musicale, I saw that he put up the tree he used to display in Florida, and it jogged my memory of some the once a year events I loved so much at Christmas.
Brandon's tree in St. Petersburg
One of my favorite activities was the annual Cookie Exchange and Fashion Show. Each year, one of us would host a meeting of confirmed bachelors to partake in the occasion this is touted in all of the Lifestyle magazines as a fun manner to trade recipes and collect holiday goodies for one's domestic. Being the innovative types, we decided further to the cookies, we'd all model fabulously atrocious vacation outerwear to add to the festive mood. With the exception of Paul, who does not drink, we also made sure to have enough components of hooch on hand to keep all people properly lubricated because the event improved. I loved to expose off horrendous holiday sweaters, which become smooth to accomplish as I labored for HSN at the time and had get right of entry to to surplus stock from the Storybook Knits collection. Behold:
Yes, the fake strands of pearls had been a hostess gift from me to all attendees of the primary Cookie Exchange returned in 2003, and people necklaces appeared to constantly make an appearance at next excursion functions.
Ever the creative one, right here's Brandon in his homage to Sonja Henie:
One year, we even had the honor of getting "Joan Crawford" attend the fete, even though why she opted to reveal up sans hairpiece turned into a question we pointed out for the complete season.
I might not bore you with recipes for the treats we shared (I changed into usually too loaded to don't forget what we ate until I saw the leftovers the next day), however I encourage every body to host a Cookie Exchange and Fashion Show. It's simple and amusing, and guarantees that everybody will get into the Christmas spirit.
Paul's tree in 2004
Whatever you celebrate, I wish you all the satisfactory for happy, healthful vacation season.