This evening I went to a holiday party and gift exchange.

For the gift exchange we were to bring a gift that was less than 10 dollars.

We also had finger foods and sang some carols.

We had a hilarious time singing The Twelve Days of Christmas with different groups of people singing for each day. I was in the Five Golden Rings group. It was fun to watch each group as they put actions to their words. Can you imagine Eight Maids a Milking?

OK, this may be an interesting picture to illustrate the days of Christmas, but it was what I thought of. Maybe it is the two big birds hanging off the side of the coach. Perhaps they are two of the Four Calling Birds.

In any case, I just like this picture. It was in one of my Grandma’s scrapbooks. There are definitely some gifts on the coach.

Of course it is also 12 days until Christmas.

So, what did I take to the gift exchange?

I put a little thought into my gift. I wanted something that might generate a little bit of interest and get passed around. I thought about the fact that a Panda Express was opening soon in Patterson. I decided that a Panda Express gift card would be a good choice.

We drew numbers to determine the picking order. I drew a number that was near the end, so had a lot of fun watching the gifts being chosen, stolen, etc..

My gift was taken early and was one of the most passed around gifts.

A few rounds before my turn came I saw the gift that I wanted. It reminded me of my Grandma who did a lot of needle and crochet work. It also had my favorite color in it.

I felt a little bad taking it from one of my friends when the time came for my selection, but got to see her eyes light up when she opened the gift she chose to replace it.

I did end up with this beautiful item and gave a big thank you to the lady who made it. It is beautiful and well made.

A long day to end a long week, but a nice ending. Now for the weekend.

Steven