I did it, you guys. I survived a marathon of Christmasing. Cousin parties, potlucks, festive feasts, and high school reunions have eaten up my December weekends (…or have I eaten them?). I played host a few times, guest a few more, and I now find myself with an overwhelming amount of gratitude for the family and friends in my life. (What is this sappiness? It’s not even Christmas yet! Sheesh!). The success of these various events often hinged on the same things: Good food (IE: cheese, cheese, and cheese); beverages that made me feel warm and cozy (eggnog + rum, and my new favourite Sangria recipe); and the ability to walk into my closet and pull out a bevy of festive frocks for each new occasion.
Today, you’re looking at the dress I wore to play host. This particular gathering brought together all of my husband’s former college roommates (and, more recently, his baseball team). The origins of this evening go back nearly 5 years, when two of Matt’s roommates got some really sweet deal on a giant roast, and threw an impromptu “Family Dinner”. The tradition has morphed a little over time, and this year Matt and I provided the turkey. Well, Matt provided the turkey. I provided booze and boardgames.
This dress is a mom-find, scored at a $0.99 Salvation Army sale, and offered to the daughter with the highest dress size. I was perfect for a dinner party, chiefly becayse it’s loose on the tummy. While the colour isn’t a traditionally festive tone, it pairs nicely with some cranberry lipstick. With my dress already ready to go long before the event itself, I was able to spend the week prior time thrifting for other dinner party goodies. First, I came across those groovy art-deco sparkly Christmas trees above. Next came a punch bowl big enough to take a bath in, followed by some lovely toile table runners. I’ll admit I originally picked these up for a friend who loves all things toile, but they looked too good on the table to part with (hey, my Christmas spirit has limits).
The last item I thrifted for this party was this glorious board game. Ya’ll already know I’m a tad obsessed with 90’s pop culture, so taking this home for a paltry $5 was a no-brainer. As I suspected, THIS GAME IS AWESOME! It’s like playing college Jeopardy in 1997. After we all ate our weight in stuffing, we split into boy/girl teams to give it a try. I’ll admit, I sort of assumed victory was in the bag. I mean, 50% of my blog content is an ode to the 90s. However, while the girls team did perform admirably, we were thwarted by a series of “Events” questions. While we agonized over questions about the 1996 presidential election, the boys ran away with the game after a sweet streak of questions about Full House, Toy Story, and the Simpsons.
I also have to highlight one more particular question, as it ties in nicely to my very thrifty theme. Mid-game, I landed on the “Sports” category. That area is even worse than events, so I just assumed it was a lost cause. However, this particular question had something to do with an Australian golfer, and almost immediately, a light bulb went off in my brain. You see, a few months ago, I thrifted a belt strictly because it had a shark on the buckle. As I Googled for more information about this shark logo, I discovered it was the mark of an Australian golfer by the name of Greg Norman. So, when I responded to the question with a confident “It’s Greg! Greg something! I know from my belt!”, jaws dropped in collective disbelief. I don’t play sports, I don’t like sports, and I certainly don’t make a habit of retaining sports-related facts, so me talking sports is the equivalent to Snooki talking 18th century literature. Sadly, I only got as close as “Greg Norris!”, and all the Party of Five questions in the world couldn’t catch us up to the boys.
While I lost the game, I still think I came out a winner. If a dollar dress, a giant sangria bowl, and two sparkly Christmas trees aren’t enough to ensure I keep up my thrift game well into 2013, the slight chance that it may ensure I win more board games pretty much seals the deal.
Merry Christmas!