Starting Anew

2011 has arrived.  And she did so with lots of fan fare.  We partook in a White Elephant/Gaudiest Christmas Party EVAH on NYE that was a hoot! 
Having used the tree skirt idea last year, I decided to go another route, leaving my husband to do his gaudiest best.  We asked our son if he wanted us to stay until his friends got there.  He declined our presence.  I don't understand why:

The nose lit up, the antlers did not.

This year we fully grasped the concept of the White Elephant gift:  I brought 5 D batteries (in their package) with a note tied to it saying "Toy not included", which received MANY laughs.  The husband brought a goldfish.  A real goldfish.  And a bowl.  This was met with horror by the opener of the gift (as they had an hour ride home and feared for the fish's life).  Since I was the last to open my gift, I had the pick of any gift that had not already been stolen once.  I chose to trade for a cuddlee and gingerthin cookies.  The new owner of the unopened gift chose to steal my husband's wooden carved gnome (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU) which left my husband with the only unopened gift and he decided to keep it.  It was an over the door hangar holder.  So this year's gifts were winners!

Surprisingly, the time til midnight dragged a bit, and I figured we would be able to leave soon after.  But charades were called for.  We ended up tied, although I happen to KNOW my husband cheated with his "Charlies Angels" clues.  It was 2am before we started wrapping things up and heading home.  A fun night was had by all.

But the New Year would not be complete without beginning it with our standard fare.  We dressed in our Christmas gifts for the occasion:

So, for us, we are planning on making this year even BETTER than last.  Not sure if it's possible but I'm going to give it the ol' college try.