Why is it that holidays bring out the best in a lot of us? Really, no matter the holiday, we find ourselves ready to go out with friends, neighbors, have guests at our home, or go out with the guys or gals and celebrate to the fullest for an evening, or if lucky, for a long weekend.
Regardless of what month it happens to be, and if the weather works with us, or not, we entertain, or are entertained and we love it all. Well, usually we love it, except when the guests leave my home, and it is my job to clean up the house, rinse the dishes and fill up the dishwasher, or wait until morning to finish the chores. And don’t forget to dump the empty beer, soda, water or wine bottles, and be sure to find spots in the fridge for the leftovers that your guests refused to take with them. Of course, that leftover thing means I have to empty the foods in their containers, wash the containers, and return them to the owners. And why does no one want their leftovers returned? Now I can either serve the left overs to my family, if there is something they would like, or throw them away. I dislike throwing away good food, but I have done so on many occasions. Sometimes friends and relatives can come up with strange new recipes. Wow!
Going out, or to someone else’s house is a great option. Then, we have to decide on the food I plan to take, get in the car, drive there, or walk if the party is close by. We pretend to like all the food. It is so much easier, I felt, early on, to host the party at our home. After each of my home parties, I swear I will never host a party at my home again. I do however, agree to do this when the party time arrives. My neighbors are a lovely bunch of people and we can make a party for any reason. And, we do.
When my kids were young, I insisted on having these get-togethers at my home. Somehow, I felt this was the best option. Oh yes, there was a lot of work preparing for guests and cleaning up afterward, However, that option I preferred instead of taking a hostess gift, getting three little ones clean, dressed, and reminding them to watch their manners. That was back when we parents had a firm hand on children’s behavior but that time has long gone and when little ones came to my home, I closed back room doors, had a supply of club soda on hand, (that is an old standby remedy to clean your carpets when spills happened) and fill up my fridge and pantry with any extras someone might ask for. I have even tried to supply games and ideas for the younger guests, but now all they wanted to do was work with electronic gadgets. Now I solve that younger guest problem. I only invite and keep company with friends who have no children, or children old enough to stay home. Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? Suit yourself. This plan of mine has keep me sane for quite a few years, and once these younger people become teens, they have no desire to spend an evening with “old folks.” That has worked out beautifully for me, and most of my guests.
Take for example, New Year’s Eve. I invite my neighbors and friends (again, adults only). There are times when your age allows you to do things most people would find offensive. But do them I do. My husband and I invite everyone to attend and they always bring a dish and their favorite drink, and we supply the plates, napkins, paper cups, etc. As we are the host and hostess for that evening, we endure the late hour, and have all the proper condiments at hand to please everyone, at most times. Because we have so many neighborhood parties it is essential that everyone ring a dish of some sort. We always have several bottles of Sparkling wine or Prosecco, (this is an Italian Champagne, although I’m not allowed to say champagne unless it comes from France). But, I cheat. Again, my age allows me to do so, and my neighbors do not mind what I call it.
There is one rule that we enforce for New Year’s Eve. We celebrate midnight, and give it another fifteen or twenty minutes, then announce “Happy New Year, now the party has ended. We old people have to get our beauty sleep.” After the first year doing this, it has become a practice and usually I do not have to make my after midnight announcement. Everyone seems ready to depart, and we still have a few minutes to return our home to almost as the before look. Tomorrow will be soon enough to clean and straighten up. So with age, comes smart thinking and doing. And it is so easy to turn out the lights and head to bed. Tomorrow we can sleep late … we hope … and then clean up the house.
There are those spring and summer parties that can cause a bit more stress. Especially when it begins to rain just before our guests are expected to arrive. After a few drinks and nibbles on foods, the bad weather doesn’t seem to be thought of. Believe it or not, my guests never seem to complain. I suppose they are afraid they won’t be invited the next time. And that could be disturbing. I guess we are afraid that if we are not invited, everyone will be talking about us. That is not correct at all. Just an ego thing, I believe. Anyway, our neighborhood parties are part of the reason we get along so well. Let me think. Now that the spring and summer months are here, I will have to find some excuse to have a party before Memorial Day. Don’t think anyone in this neighborhood would find fault with any excuse to host a party here, at my house. Maybe someone will suggest they host a party for whatever reason. And we will all be there to be certain no one talks about us at that time. So much for the best neighborhood in Heron Bay.
