twas the weekend before christmas.

This past weekend was full of major holiday cheer. Friday night Kristen and I hosted our annual "Friendsmas" with some of our Holy Cross crew. It was full of fabulous food (Kristen's baked brie was heavenly), plenty of games, and lots of laughs (oh, and maybe a few too many glasses of wine!).  Photos from Friendsmas are to come shortly! A few people asked me about my holiday games afterwards, so I'd figured I'd share them (and more) here for you to use at your next holiday gathering. These are all courtesy of the #1 party planner and "hostest with the mostest"--my mother, Mae:

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

What's a better way to get in the Christmas spirit than reading the most famous Christmas poem of all? At the dinner table, start reading The Night Before Christmas. The catch is that everytime someone reads out loud the word "and", they must pass the book to the person to their left. This person then proceeds to read them poem until they reach the word "and". Eventually, whoever finishes the story with "to all a goodnight" wins a small prize! It's a fun way to get everyone involved, and can provide some entertainment when the book is passed to someone who's had too much eggnog!

LEFT/RIGHT GAME

Wrap enough small presents for everyone at the table. Then read this: http://www.santalady.com/xmasgame/leftright.html
and instruct everyone to pass their present left or right, depending on what you say.

SNOWBALL TOSS
Draw a large snowman on a piece of poster board. Cut out three holes where the snowman's snowballs are. Label these in order from largest to smallest: "10", "20", and "30". Hang the poster board in a door way using tinsel. Then take 3 styrofoam balls and coat them with "snow spray" to give them a more snowball look. Each guest will take a turn throwing the balls through the snowman. Highest score wins.

HOLIDAY ART
Have everyone at the table place a piece of paper on top of their head. Using a pen or pencil, you will instruct them to draw the following scene: A fireplace with 3 stockings hanging. A fire in the fireplace. A Christmas tree to the left of the fireplace. A basket to the right of the fireplace with 5 candy canes in it. Lastly, tell them to place a star on top of the Christmas tree. Have everyone vote on the pictures out loud and show them off. Best one wins!

SNOWBALL BALANCE

To play this game you need to have "snowballs" a.k.a. cotton balls in a bowl and a small spoon. Each player gets one minute to try to pile as many "snowballs" as he or she can on top of his or her head using only the spoon. Whoever piles the most "snowballs" in the minute wins!

Seriously no matter how old you are, these games result in serious fun.

On Saturday I spent most of the day cooking and preparing for the brunch I was hosting for my family the following day. Doug helped to make this awesome egg casserole (recipe here). Saturday night I was invited to the HC Girls' Laxmas in the city, which was a good time minus my overhang from the night before.

Sunday involved a nice brunch, some serious cooking decorating, and the Leah "special"*...mimosas. We were going to decorate gingerbread houses, however my efforts in building the houses didn't go so well (i.e. failed miserably and I ended up just binge eating the crumbled structures...fml). All in all, the cookies worked just fine and everyone had fun. Following brunch and the Pats game, Mae Mae and I ventured over to Copley Square where a few miraculous things happened:

1. We found a free parking spot right in Copley square infront of Trinity Church. Yup, a few feet away from where we wanted to go.

2. There was no line for Trinity's Candlelight Carols. This may not seem that amazing to you, however apparantly every year people wait in line for like an hour to try to get in.

3. Mae cried when they turned off the lights in the ginormous (it's my word, go with it) church and everyone started singing Silent Night in the candlelight. Just kidding, this isn't miraculous. The lady cries at Folger's coffee ads.

Anywho, Mae and I had a very cool night listening to the carolers and muching late night at the Oak Room.

I feel very lucky for weekends like these.

*footnote: For all of you that don't know my friend Leah, I've never met a girl that loves a mimosa so much. It's her go-to drink. Whether she's brunching at Mistral in her hot pink wig, tailgating at the Pats game, or face planting on the Jose Macs dance floor, it's what you'll always find her slurping down. She's even stated that she wants to name her first-born "Mimo". Yup, this girl would marry a mimosa if she could. And do I love her for it? ABSOLUTELY.