.christmas parties: round three.

One of my fondest Christmas memories as a child is the Riddle family Christmas party. It was held in the basement of a small drugstore and the whole family would come, prepared for food, fun, family time, and a visit from Santa himself. We sang Christmas songs and opened our presents from old Saint Nick.

We haven't had a Riddle family Christmas party in years, at least not one with more than a handful of family members in attendance. This year, 'the Grandmootie' (my cute grandma) took it upon herself to organize a Christmas party.

She and my grandpa arranged to have a chili buffet at the clubhouse in their condo community and everyone was there! All the aunts and uncles, all the cousins, all the grandbabies. We had such a great time catching up with each other.

Santa didn't make a physical appearance, but my grandparents got a gift for each of the great-grandchildren and did a white elephant game for the adults. My takeaway from the gift distribution? A large quantity of onion soup mix, of course!

One of the highlights of the night was family pictures. Since everyone was present (forgive my holiday pun), we did our first family pictures in as long as I can remember. More than one of us got a little misty eyed over all the holiday family togetherness.

This party could not have gone better, in my opinion. It is a party I will remember fondly for many years to come.