Christmas party

The party is over and it went well. At the end we got 11 guests, which in our case means a full house. We had people sitting on a beanbag, fold-up chairs and empty crates. And the sofa and armchairs were quite full indeed. Himself went overboard with the fire, so we had to open the windows and even the door.

I woke up nice and early in the morning, to give myself time to prepare everything. But I ended up enjoying my cup of tea and Himself wanted to watch "just a few more minutes" of Runaway jury. Then he got a call from his former teacher, who wanted to show a painting he had just finished after years of work.

At the end we got everything done. I have to admit that I cheated a bit with the party foods... I made some pastries with rice mix, tuna and soft cheese with garlic and herbs. I don't have any pictures of them, because they weren't that pretty looking. They tasted lovely though! :) The rest of the food was unfortunately shop-bought, but went down well anyway.

My lovely Polish friend came in before the crowds arrived, and I made us some mulled wine. We had a lovely and relaxing time, good chat and a bit of music in the background.





Brian came in with a big bag of Christmas crackers. I was so excited, since it was the first time I ever got to pull one! I got a tiny motorbike from mine. And of course the bad jokes found from the crackers had to be read aloud!






More Christmas cracker surprises. Cara making a jigsaw, her glass of wine forgotten.




After the puzzle was done, Cara started looking for new challenges. She found a pen, and set up a improvised "tattoo-station". She does all sorts of designs for living, so we had a professional using our skins as her canvas.






And this is the result, signed by the artist. My arm is in full bloom. :)












The last guests left at five in the morning, so I'm a little bit tired today. But it was definitely worth it!

Party planning

In our home things work very strangely. Usually parties are planned and carefully thought through. In our case, we decided not to go there. First of all, most of our friends are musicians, which means that they are quite busy during the party season. And if they are busy, their better halves won't be coming either. And that would mean a very quiet party.

So we waited to see, if himself happens to have a night off before Christmas. And so happened, that next Sunday is the day. We threw all the half-made guestlists into the fire and sent everyone an invite. And when I say invite, this is what I mean: Himself texted everyone something along these lines "Drinks in the flat on 21st. Come along and bring himself/herself. 8 onwards. No drink, no entry." What can I say, the man's an artist! :D

I was getting worried no-one would come, but already nine people confirmed. And knowing Irish people, that can mean anything from 2 to 20. So it'll be interesting to say the least.
Now all I have to do is to figure out how to fit the people in the flat and where to hide Billy Jr. for the duration of the party. And get snacks and drink, lots and lots of drink. :)