The last time Jes and I threw a Christmas Party was back in 2006 when we lived in Irvine.  It was before any of us had kids and some of us weren’t even married yet.  On Saturday, we threw a party and it was almost like a reunion for some people.  It was just nice to have a lot of the same people all together again under one roof.  We reserved the Clubroom and we had a decent showing of 17 adults and 9 kids!  My oh my!  I remember back when our parties consisted of at least 25 adults and maybe 4 dogs.

Anyway, the day started with a little drama.  Jes started the prime rib at 11:30 thinking it would take 7 hours to finish.  There was smoke all up in the house because it was turned up to 500 degrees (nothing bad happened) and the roast finished by 2:30!

So, in a panic, we went to Plan B and decided to make prime rib sandwiches with horseradish aioli, onion relish, and arugula instead of serving slices with sides.  It turned out just fine and the meat was perfectly medium rare.  Yum.

We had a kid-friendly menu and activities also prepared and they had a fun time together.

The adults also had a little game to play – we set up a blind wine tasting of cheap and more expensive red wines.

By the end, everyone was pretty rowdy.  Check out the Reese and Jack Team vs. Uncle Jimmy.

Keenan almost stole a kiss from Zoe until Uncle Victor spooked her.

I’m so glad the timing worked out for everyone.  It’s rare that we all have a free Saturday to hang out all together nowadays.  What a great way to kick off the Christmas season!!