Tonight was my 20th Wreath Making Party!

WOW! What a great night! [It was worth all the frustration of the last few days. I'll spare you the details.] This is a tradition that has been a part of the Boston/Cambridge Stakes for 40+ years. We had a terrific crowd of women there. We had dedicated co-chairs (thank you Sherene and Darcy). We had beautiful decorations (Jenn is a rock star!). We had delicious food (will you cater my wedding, Brittany?). We had a wonderful musical program (Linda=maestra). We had rows of bows (Elisabeth orchestrated the making of 200 bows!). We had lots and lots of helpers with set-up, clean-up, registration, food, decorations, buying supplies, participating in the program and making bows. Everything turned out GREAT!!! I was so glad to have so many of my friends there. And Shelly and Shelley came all the way from Utah!

Twenty Wreath Making Parties ago the chairwoman asked if I'd be in charge of food. I said "sure" and had no clue what the party entailed. Her instructions were, "The food needs to be really nice, try not to spend a lot of money, and we have to have carrot soup." Carrot soup? I didn't know nothin' about makin' no carrot soup. Well, I made gallons of carrot soup (and followed her other instructions) and was totally blown away when I got to the church and saw what a Wreath Making Party was all about! Since that first year I've been in charge of something almost every year (chair/co-chair/set-up/clean-up). This year I was an unpaid consultant. The party is a BIG deal. It's a wonderful tradition. Some women have brought their same friends for 15 or 20 years. You walk in the building and can smell the boughs (it's better than a Yankee candle!). I think the party is worth every ounce of effort that goes into it. The Wreath Making Party is one of my very favorite New England traditions and it really is a wonderful way to start the Christmas season even if it's not December yet!