Christmas Tea

Tonight was our homeschool group's annual Mom's Christmas Tea. This year it was held at the American Legion building. It is getting harder and harder to find rooms /buildings available in the area that 1) are big enough to hold 50-70 people for a meeting, and 2) don't charge an arm and a leg. Churches, which were once our primary meeting places, now tend to have grueling reservation processes in place, and are less welcoming than they once were. I guess liability issues have many of them scared to open their doors to outside groups that don't fall under their ministry umbrellas. But I digress.
The Tea was wonderful, and has become a much anticipated tradition for our support group. Each table is decorated by a volunteer "hostess" who brings her own table linens, candles, dishes, centerpieces, etc. We had 9 tables, with 6 people at each table. I wish I had a camera so I could have taken pictures. I rely on my daughter's camera, and she had it with her at a basketball game tonight. Oh well. One table at the back of the room had an urn of hot water with various teas and cocoa mixes, and a couple of crock pots of spiced cider. Then two long tables were filled with plates of goodies. I brought tea sandwiches - curried chicken salad with apples & cranberries ; ham & apricot-cream cheese; cucumber & mint-cream cheese. There were other trays of sandwiches as well as cookies, brownies, fruit, mini cream puffs, and other treats. Three ladies and I sang the holiday classic - 14 Days of Homeschooling (* sung to tune of 12 Days of Christmas ) Then Lynn G. led us in some Christmas Carols, while her husband accompanied us on guitar. Her 4 little children sang "Happy Birthday, Jesus", which was absolutely precious. Following that, Dianne Hart presented the Christmas story from the point of view of Mary. It was an enjoyable night, mostly because of the fellowship with the wonderful homeschool moms in our support group. I so enjoy spending time with them, as we talk and laugh and encourage one another. Eileen and I stood shivering and talking in the parking lot for about an hour afterwards, as we have done so many nights through the years. Her husband is a gem, as he shooed her out the door tonight so she could spend an evening relaxing with the ladies while he stayed home and put all FIVE under five to bed ( I'm sure with Ellie's help) Good job, Jerry. :-)