Last night we had our 7th Annual Christmas Party and Gift Exchange. It was so fun to see everyone again. With the exception of weddings, it’s rare to see this many people together all at once. This year, we catered the food, which saved a lot of time and energy. A special thanks to Holly and Roy for helping with the set-up and prep. The booze was flowing and the bottle of Jim Beam was killed off in the first two hours by Dr. Thilan himself. The night was not without a shotgun round in the patio as well. Unfortunately, all the alcohol that was consumed did not numb the pain of crotch punches or a sprained ankle.

Of course, the “highlight” of the party is the gift exchange. In an attempt at having people go home with a gift that we actually wanted, the theme of this year’s gift exchange was “Non-Crappy Gifts”. Well, some still brought a crappy gift, one brought a gift that doesn’t suck but blows, and some brought a gift they thought was not crappy but was still crappy. We also added a new rule of having the person who brought the most-stolen gift getting one last steal. Unlike other years, we didn’t have any baaaaaar seeeeeets or Starbucks paraphenelia. Instead, there were boardgames, a really big candle holder, an Atari Flashback, iPod+Nike device, a wine dispenser that wizzes, Airzookas, and a “Beaver Cuts”. *sigh* Some said that they needed a little more direction in the selection of their gift and some said that we should just exchange gift cards or cash next year. Maybe it’s time to have a re-gift exchange. Feel free to submit requests.

Enjoy the photos! Merry Christmas and Happy 2007!!