Post Christmas Family Potluck

A few years back we started a tradition - having the extended family over to enjoy the "left-overs". As the family grew, this tradition has morphed. We now require a larger venue and rent a community hall. Folks do not just bring their left-overs; they go to great lengths to prepare delicious main dishes and desserts.

Part of the evening which has not changed, is the gift exchange - except for the rules which are different each year. Each person brings a $10 gift that is wrapped and put under the tree. Then each person gets a number. The person with the first number picks a gift from under the tree and opens it. The second person has the choice of opening a new gift or taking the one the first person opened. If it is the latter, the first person opens another gift, and so on. Typically, there is one gift that everyone wants, and you can not predict what that will be. When everyone wants the same gift, there is a great deal of laughter, negotiating, trading, stealing and hiding going on. It's all in good fun.

Above is a photo of three of the people who travelled a long way to attend this year's event. That may be my favorite part of the evening - getting to visit with those folks whom I have not seen for a while.

At the end, it's group photo time. Everyone dutifully lines up and poses, but not without a lot of "hamming it up". The end result is full of big smiles. And, no matter how imperfect, (eyes closed, etc.) it is a treasure!