An SII Christmas

First of all, please allow me to apologize for the lack of pictures in this post. I took dozens of pictures on Tuesday but my camera cord has inexplicably disappeared, so I can't upload my pictures until I find it. With that said, I'll try to be as descriptive as I can without boring you to tears.
  
Now then, let's play a game called Two Truths and a Lie. Ready? Here we go.

a) We had our SII Christmas party this week.
b) We had tons of food, ugly sweaters, and a white elephant gift exchange.
c) It's finals week so people don't want to party.

So, which two are true? If you brilliantly answered a and b, congratulations! You have just won a spiritual pat on the back from me. There. It just happened. Did you miss it?

In all seriousness, we did have a seriously good time. Barbara as always did a fantastic job coordinating everything, especially the lovely eats. The event included a table cloth, party plates, hot cider and all. People were kind enough to contribute their own goodies: cookies, chips, crackers, cheese, caroler cupcakes, celery (basically any food you can think of that begins with the letter "c").

I also fulfilled a lifelong dream of participating in an official Ugly Sweater Party. I've always wanted to go to a party wearing something ugly (on purpose). Finally the pointing, stares, and laughter directed at me was something I actually welcomed-- rather than the usual sweat-inducing, face-flushing embarrassment of an unintentional fashion faux pas. Just kidding guys.... Haha.... No really, it's ok to laugh. Some people decorated their own sweaters, some dressed up as reindeer, Kyle even had this awesome one with vintage golfers depicted on it. Classy! I donned (get it?) a particularly atrocious acrylic yarn item that belonged to my mom in the 80s. In fact, it was her maternity sweater she wore the Christmas she was pregnant with me. Thus in a sense, this was the second time I was in that sweater. Hahaha!!! Well. Enough of that.

We also had a wonderful white elephant gift exchange, facilitated by the vocally gifted Deirdre. Gifts ranged from school spirited socks and a light bulb to toy guns and a framed photo of our patron saint. Everyone gets an A+ for creativity. I remember participating one year in a white elephant gift exchange and someone had wrapped a half-used bottle of hot sauce from the cafeteria. Boo. This year, everyone put thought and effort into it. Yay!

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped coordinate this year's SII Christmas. From our crazy family to yours (crazy or not): Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and in a few weeks, Happy New Year!