We had an amazing Christmas this year… Boone’s family came to the Delta and we had a big Christmas Eve dinner party for our friends whose families were in town. It was a fun crowd of about fourteen people who had mostly just met. We had Christmas crackers with silly paper hats, lots of spaghetti and homemade meatballs, homemade french bread and (maybe a little too much) red wine. I’m prety sure the paper hats and wine went a long way to making everyone feel at home. 
My favorite part was after dinner when we pulled out these silly homemade songbooks and sang Christmas carols with Boone’s dad on the guitar. To make singing a little easier for everybody, I made coffee syllabubs (a super easy and amazing after dinner drink that southerners adopted from the British and adapted with brandy and bourbon.)
I didn’t come up with the singing idea on my own… For almost every Christmas Night from birth until age 24, my grandparent’s best friends the Gilchrists would throw a HUGE back tie soiree’ with a cocktail hour, a lovely meal, toasts, and then after dinner drinks and singing around a piano. I feel like those parties were some of my most formative experiences about what it meant to be a southern lady and a welcoming host.I had to steal the singing idea… AND the after-drink drinks. I mean, some people get kinda nervous about singing in public (especially when you’ve ONLY JUST met the people at the party.) But honestly, by the end of the night I think everyone felt as though we’d known each other for ages… the holidays, full bellies, and christmas carols can be magical like that, I guess.
Also, I think (and I hope!) the wonderful company, cheery decorations, delish but low-key supper and Christmas Eve singing fun made up for the fact that we kept all of our guests waiting at least 20 minutes OUTSIDE in the cold when our church service lasted at least 30 minutes longer than I’d planned for. Ooops.
Here are a few photos of the action, my burlap, silver, and holly table settings for the “Big” and “little” tables, plus the singing and merriment!
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