Last year, we hosted our first "Harvest Party" for our church family. While it was October, the weather was warm, and we were able to be outside and have a fire. This year, we planned to repeat the same basic party, but it certainly didn't turn out quite like we had planned!
Our party was planned for Friday, October 12th, and as that day drew near we realized the weather wasn't going to be conducive to being outdoors. The forecast was for it to be wet and cold, so I had come with a way to move the party indoors.
What I decided to do was push all our living furniture against the perimeter of the room, and set up a couple tables running diagonally through our living room. This allowed for people to have a good place to eat indoors, but still be able to get in and out of the backdoor, to the hallway where the bathroom is, and easily access the kitchen.
The tables were certainly full, but I felt like it worked out well. We also had places at the bar for guests to sit, and thankfully, not everyone sits at the same time as there's always those guests who mingle and never sit (I'm talking to you, Tia :-). Also, the children all wanted to eat on the back patio, and it wasn't too cold for that.
Our menu included hot dogs and chili (provided by us), and an array of delicious sides and desserts (provided by our guests). It was certainly more fun last year to be able to roast our hot dogs over a fire, but I just put them in the slow cooker this year and that worked out fine!
We weren't sure if the weather would keep most people away, but we still had a great turnout. Our guests included: Russ, Lisa, Chloe Jo, Vance, Darla, Dan, Michele, Sherry, Ed, Antha, Ryann, Raelynn, Doyle, Dicie, Paul, Rebekah, Hayden, Avery, Ross, Tia, Sadie, Caroline, and our family.
Rebekah and Lisa enjoying the delicious apple cider Lisa made
Vance and Darla (also enjoying the cider . . . it was the perfect night for it)
Michele and Dan
Chelle and Chris with our happy hostess faces on :-)
Ross and Tia (who was not in a picture taking mood)
Sweet baby Caroline was left inside with the adults while all the other kiddos were outside. She didn't think that was very fair.
BUT - she didn't mind too much!
Chris, Russ, and Ross visiting
Sherry and Ed
Brecklyn and Brooke (we still had a houseful of guests, but Brecklyn put her pjs on around the time she would normally go to bed)
Doyle, Chris, Dan, and Paul visiting
Dicie and Doyle looking festive
Like I said above, all the children wanted to eat outside (which worked out great). After they finished eating, Tia had brought cookie decorating kits for them to work on. This took up a solid hour, and I was very grateful for them to have an activity!
Chloe Jo and crazy Brianna
Avery, Brianna, Brecklyn, and Chloe Jo
Raelyn, Brenson, Brooke, and Sadie
Chelle, Ryann, and Raelyn
Thank you, Tia, for bringing an activity!
After the children got too cold to be outside much longer, they came inside and played upstairs for a while until most families left between 9:00 - 9:30pm. I wasn't sure how it would go with the children not really being able to play outside, but it worked out fine. We were all very pleased with how the evening went, and always enjoy time spent with our spiritual family.
No comments:
Post a Comment