2010 Christmas/November meeting highlights

Location:  Banbury Center
Date:  Sunday November 28, 2010

Organizing Committee:

• Doe C.
• Judy G.
• Nicole H.
• Cheryl & Peter I.
• Martha & Barry J.
• Ruth & Dennis T.
• Barbara & Hans Van Z.

1. Our meeting started off with an enormous pot-luck lunch where club members brought in a large variety of salads, appetizers, main courses as well as decadent desserts.  Certainly, no one at the meal would complain the lack of food and certainly no one went home hungry! 
2. A Christmas centerpiece display contest was held during the meeting where members brought in table-top displays using various Department 56 items.  Barry and Martha’s entry was picked as the winner of the contest with their ingenious idea of creating an underground coal mine for the elves.  Buelah’s entry was a close second with Santa Claus and his flying reindeers.
3. Cherie gave a talk on a trip she and Eric took to attend the unveiling of the Williamsburg Village by Department 56.
4. Robert and Ann led a fun hands-on activity teaching everyone how to make ornament holders.   You can tell from the photographs that everyone paid careful attention and followed the instructions well.    
5. Last but not least, to celebrate the Christmas season, we had a gift exchange among club members.  This year, we had a twist in the way gifts were exchanged.  All gifts were laid out on a table and each member picked his or her gift according to the order his or her ticket was drawn.  The twist is that you could pick a gift off the table and keep it as your own OR you could pick a gift off the table and exchange it with a gift someone has already chosen.  During the game, 2 particular gifts became enormously popular and were coveted by many and thus were “exchanged hands” multiple times.  At the end of the draw, Don and Peter were the proud owners of those gifts.