Tis the Season

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend (and a very happy Hanukkah to those that are celebrating)! Mine kicked off with a wonderful work party on Friday night and was followed by lots of activities on both Saturday and Sunday.

I have written about getting together with my best friends at Neiman Marcus each year for the annual holiday buffet. This year was no different and our gathering happened to be yesterday.

Last year we added a Secret Santa portion to the event. There is a group of nine of us so rather than buying a gift for each person we each get a Secret Santa and buy a $60 gift. Our budget is a little higher than the average Secret Santa exchange but this is the one and only gift we buy for a friend. It works really well and is much more meaningful than buying everyone a package of napkins or a candle.

Last year we figured out who everyone had, but this year most of us kept our lips sealed which made it a little more exciting. Cassie had me and bought me a Blue Canton dinner plate which I LOVE!

After stuffing ourselves we headed downstairs to get our annual photo in front of one of the NM trees. The tree seemed a little smaller this year, but festive none-the-less.

Several ladies had to leave, but those of us that stayed decided to get a photo with Santa. I apologize for the "ghetto" and fuzzy photo, but they did not offer a digital version so we took a photo of our photo. Regardless, I do love this photo and we all agreed that we might have to make a recreation shot an annual tradition. 

We all had the most splendid time yesterday. I love our little annual tradition and am so thankful for all my friends!

On a more somber note, today I worked at a very touching event at the local hospital where I volunteer. Each year they have a memorial service for families that have lost a baby during the year. Each family adds an ornament to the tree in honor of their baby in heaven. There were about 25 babies that were honored today. The above poem was read at the service and I wanted to share it as I found it to be so touching. The holidays can be a very hard time if you are grieving a loss so I thought thought this might help those that are in a small way. 

I am now off to a second Secret Santa of the weekend. Tis the season to spread good cheer!