It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Doesn't look much like Christmas as the temperature has been above 0C for several days now but since three of my Christmas events took place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and I have 11 of the 20 copies of "The Book" that I give as Christmas presents printed and bound, it was a good week.

First, of course, was our M.E.E. Christmas party on Tuesday night. We meet in McClure United Church and the basement is always beautifully decorated for Christmas so when we arrived to set up, it was already quite festive.

Gifts from M.E.E. at each place

Gift from Barb S. of teensy beads

Two tables for the savouries and the one in the back for sweets and the punch.

As the food comes in....

The punch and the beginning of the sweets!

Each year, the club supplies three Christmas trees. Members who bring in six ornaments can enter their name in a draw for one of the trees and one third of the ornaments contributed. Many of the long-term members bring in ornaments, but having won the draw previously, do not enter their names.

The tree draw...

Some of us sitting around visiting....

Tina lead a trivia quiz about Christmas songs and movies. Our table won and each person received this wonderful glue package! 

Glue spreader, glue bottle, glue bottle covers and glue tips!

Oops! Marg lead another Christmas Carol quiz. Our table missed one answer and two tables tied and Joanne supplied the tie-breaking question. Was  very close. 

Our club is SO incredibly blessed to have Tina as a member AND that Tina has a laser cutter!  She has done so many wonderful projects for us (and gifts us quite often with laser poop!)

For Christmas, she made some wonderful RL Christmas ornaments and gave each of us half an ornament that we had to meet up with the possessor of the matching piece. When we met with that person and reported in, she gave us a choice of keeping the ornament that marched or a different one.

I received the doves, matched with Holly and she received another ornament.

 

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After the food and games, we moved our chairs into a circle for the gift exchange. In the past couple years, we have done the "left and right) story (or something similar). This year, Joanne found a "left, right and across" that involved much chaos and was great fun!

Then Joanne read us our annual Christmas story. This year's was Berkeley Breathed's "A Wish for Wings That Work".

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While Joanne was reading the story, Bev passed around a bag that contained gifts for each member.

 Mine was this wonderful inch tall ceramic piece.

My Christmas gift from Cheryl S. was two utility knives (with blades)

AND this wonderful LED magnifier! 

It has two settings of lights - one that is direct and one that is general!

 My dear friend, Cheryl H., won one of the Christmas trees and ornaments in the draw. Although she lives in Nova Scotia, she had left her Christmas angels with me to enter.

It was one of the best M.E.E. Christmas evenings that I can recall.

Wednesday:  Several of us who worked at W. D. Cuts School in the past met for dinner at Luisa's on Perron Street then four of us went on to the Arden Theatre to attend the St. Albert Community Band Concert.

Thursday: Almost all of us who have attended the condo potluck over the past year got together for a wonderful Christmas meal.

Just the beginning of the food!

 What an incredible "get-together" of friends!