Our New Year’s Eve was a different sort of party this year since two of the couples got to celebrate with their grandchildren. Doug and I and our friends, Connie and Steve, gave our kids a break for the evening and agreed to let the grandbabies party with us!
My granddaughter, Kaisley, met their grandson, Brody, for the first time.
They quickly struck up a friendship!
So sweet, so fun!
Soon they were off to bed and the party continued.
Connie went with a black and gold theme. She had hats and headbands and noisemakers ready.
Fun friends! Great headbands!
Connie had each of us pull two cards from this bowl with a “chore” listed on each one. Each guest had a duty to perform at different designated times throughout the evening. Once we did our “chore” we got to select from a pile of presents as a reward for doing our job. (My jobs were to announce the time at 9:00pm and again at 11:30pm.)
We picked from these pretty gifts. How fun is that?
The evening’s dinner was “make your own pizza”. The pizza bar was set up with different toppings to choose from so we could customize our own pizza’s. Love this idea!
We each made our personal pan pizza’s to our liking.
Then we sat down at her beautifully decorated black, gold and cream dining table to chow.
Along with the pizza we had this incredible Mandarin Salad. It was so good I included the recipe. You have to try it. Delicious!
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tbs plus 1 tsp sugar
1 bunch romaine lettuce (I mix the red and green) – bite size pieces
2 stalks celery-chopped
2 green onions w/tops sliced
1 can mandarin oranges – drained
Cook almonds & sugar over low heat stirring until sugar is melted and almonds are coated.
Sweet and Sour Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs vinegar
1 tbs snipped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
Dash – Red Pepper Sauce (if you want it a little hotter-use more)
Shake above ingredients in tightly covered jar-refrigerate
One of my hubbies jobs was to pass out the jello shots. None for me….I was the designated driver! (Although she made them very, very lightweight and I probably could have had just one earlier in the evening!)
Wasn’t long before we hit the hot tub!
Then it was time to head indoors for the magical New Years Eve Countdown.
And suddenly it was here. A toast to 2011!
I hope this great party gave you some new ideas for next years New Year’s Eve party or even another party during the coming year.
A final wish for you and yours to have a Happy, Healthy, Fruitful New Year!!!
And now, with the New Year well on its way, it’s time to put the holidays behind and get back to the business of Interior Design.
Happy Decorating!!!!
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