We have a lot of people in our group that are allergic to cats and dogs, so we held the entire party in our backyard and on our sunporch. I contained the cats in the laundry room, and the 5 dogs were contained upstairs in our library (more on that later).
This whole type of thing is sooooo out of my comfort zone. I have social anxiety, I don't do well in large groups, etc. etc. We don't entertain often. But when we bought this house, we loved the outside and immediately thought it would be a great space to entertain. And I really wanted to do something for our French class teachers. So I started telling people about it to keep myself accountable to following through. Then I made up invites and REALLY made it official.
It turned out really, really well.
I only had time to snap one photo before everyone came over.
After meeting, we rushed home and had about 15 minutes to put the cats away, put up the gates, feed the dogs, take the dogs out, put them upstairs in the library, change, light the candles, fire, lights, etc. I had gotten downstairs and stepped outside, snapped this picture and then our first guest arrived.
We set up all of the food in the sunroom. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, pasta salad, macaroni salad, a green salad, vegetables, chips & queso, s'mores, cake, bottled water, La Croix, hot tea, hot chocolate with marshmallows, and adult beverages for those who wanted them.
We had the fire pit going, long skewers for roasting marshmallows, and chairs both outside and inside (for those who got too chilly).
Dinner started around 6:30. We prayed, ate, drank, ate some more, and then presented our gifts to our teachers.
We got them teacher mugs, little notepads and pens that say 'thank you for shepherding us'.
I also put together little bags for the wives with some chocolate, a little notepad, and a pocket mirror like this:
I loved these little mirrors so much that I got one for myself.
We had 28 people come, which was great. I was expecting between 20-25! But we had plenty of food and lots of fun.
So....we decided to put the dogs upstairs for a few reasons. We didn't want them to be able to 'see' what was going on because they would get all riled up. And we really didn't want them to hear anything either. So the most logical place was upstairs. However, when Watson gets nervous he chews things up (anything stuffed, blankets, etc.). So I didn't want them in the bedroom. So we put them in the library. My first thought was 'well the only thing he could possibly destroy is my books and he's not interested in those.' Ha ha. I spoke too soon.
He destroyed one book. Betty Crocker's Guide to Easy Entertaining: How to Have Guests and Enjoy Them. Ironic, isn't it? THAT'S the book he chose. I had to laugh. I'm glad he left my Jon Krakauer books alone. AND, there was not a single accident in the room and they were up there for about 4 hours. So I was pleased, even with my destroyed book. And the book is still readable. I taped the ripped off cover back on.
So last night went really, really well. But I am SO GLAD it's over!! It was a lot of work. And now I feel like I can relax! In fact, after I eat my lunch of leftovers, I plan to take a nap. :)
