For the past three days I have been busy helping with our Church Christmas party. It might've just been the most anticipated party of the season because we found out that we would be some of the organizers only three weeks ago. Yikes! I've never helped to throw a get together for more than 200 people before, especially in such a short time span.
It was not supposed to be a religious occasion, it was a social gathering, just to hang out and have fun together. But our main focus was on the kids - we wanted them to be busy so that their parents could have a break :)
We decided to go with a Grinch theme. Unfortunately, our "Grinch" bailed on us at the last minute... But it still turned out OK. I wanted to share with you a few pictures but for the privacy of the participants, they were taken before the party.
We decorated the room in a fun way:
We didn't go completely with traditional seasonal colors because, after all, Whoville is a fun place to live in, right? :) It looks simple but, believe me, it took us quite a few hours to pull it all together (considering there were only four of us organizers).
You might see a small Grinch on the right. Yours truly tried her skills in drawing the Grinch for the first and, maybe, the last time in my life :)
The kids were "pinning" hearts on it. It was a lot of fun!
We had lots of other awesome activities like creating Xmas trees, picture frames, coloring the boxes for Food Bank deliveries and even making Who-hair with all these colorful supplies:
Because we did brunch, our food was breakfast food potluck like bacon, casseroles, hash browns and the cocoa bar (unfortunately, I was a little too late to snap some pictures). But at the end everybody got a little treat to take home instead of a traditional candy cane (inspired by this pin):
I used bags of seasonal M&M's for these treats. And don't ask how many hours it took me to separate the greens from the reds. You don't wanna know:) I wanted to buy just solid green from a specialty store but they were $8.99 a pound! My frugal heart just couldn't do it. With shopping sales I got these bags for half the price, and that's if you don't even count red ones which were actually an awesome addition to the cocoa bar.
We had a lot of fun but I also think that this party was a great example of frugal lifestyle. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun and enjoy yourselves!
Now it put me in a little bit of a much needed Christmas mood (with all the sickies in our house, it just wasn't coming..) Now it's time to finish decorating our own house. I think...
How was your weekend??
The decoration od the hall looks great. Are they paper chains? Brilliant Gringe. The party bag was a great idea. Well done to the four of you It sound like it was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed them selves and I expect you organisers did too.
ReplyDeleteCarolx
Thank you, Carol! These are actually $ store curled streamers. It's a simple way to decorate but they look great!
DeleteLena,
ReplyDeleteThis does look like a fun place to celebrate. Love the grinch you drew and, the grinch candy. :)
I know it was a lot of work. So happy you spirits were lifted in the work.
Thank you, Betty :)
DeleteLooks like a lot of fun. It must have been a great sense of satisfaction after it was over and went off really well.
ReplyDeleteOh, you can't even imagine :)
DeleteWe're still focused on our renos around here so haven't got too much Christmas spirit yet :( At school though we are having an Advent countdown and did our room decorating last week. It seems that I get more into the spirit when I'm around children. As adults we lose a bit of that excited feeling, but kids never do! Hope everyone is on the mend at your place Lena!
ReplyDeleteI know. I think, the older I get, the more troublesome life becomes, and you lose the innocence of the expectations of the season. On the other hand, I'm learning more and more what the true meaning of Christmas is :)
DeleteEverything looks great particularly the green candy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Enie :)
DeleteThat looks so much fun! Love the grinch you drew and that is such a cute party favor! I am sure everyone had a blast! Now you gave me some ideas for our school party :) Hope everyone is doing better at your house.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you fond it useful! :) It was a lot of fun!
DeleteI'm curious why is was not supposed to be a religious party but a social gathering?
ReplyDeleteWell, the idea was for people to come, relax, have fun and have a break from kids, not like a Sunday program. We didn't do the traditional Nativity. We will have a more religious Sunday meeting later this month, this was just for fun :)
DeleteAlso, it looks like you did an amazing job! I love the grinch theme, I'm sure the kids did too. I am in charge of ours this weekend. And I'll be glad when it's over. I should have asked you for inspiration we only have a $50 budget. We've had to put our best frugal efforts to the test
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you :) My advice - simplify! And go to your dollar store :)
DeleteI think your grinch looks great! Glad everything went well.
ReplyDeleteRhonda
Sounds like a really fun, well organized activity. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! You're so creative.
ReplyDelete