Selfie Does the Annual Christmas Party
“Happy November! I realize that Thanksgiving is still a thing and Halloween was literally yesterday but due to travel schedules, the Christmas Party is pretty early this year and so SURPRISE! It's Christmas now. You're welcome. Please join us for a festive gathering with our very favorite friends, aggressive Bears fans, reluctantly tolerated workplace proximity associates and random people I've befriended at the grocery store (Why am I lying? I mean Sephora). We'll have all the treats, music, movies, cocktails and most importantly, mandatory fun...I mean, Mr. Selfie's famous eggnog that you've been looking forward to all year! Christmas Tiaras, your velvetiest jumpsuit (looking at you, V), that plaid thing your mom bought you last year and need to be photographed in, all welcome. Please RSVP by 11/30 (for no real actual reason except that it's nice) Yours in both Christmas and Shiner Cheer, Selfie & Mr. Selfie “
The annual Christmas party has been a tradition of the Selfies since 2005 when the future Mr. Selfie and his roommate threw an epic Christmas Party that resulted in us finding candy canes under the couch until June. The adult version of this tradition results in less rogue candy and vomiting but it is one of my favorite traditions of all time that brings together most of my very favorite people.
Throwing a Christmas party as an adult does take a bit more planning. For example, Mr. Selfie has a work conference in California and then we’re immediately off to Chicago for Christmas so we had exactly one Friday which worked for our schedules. Trying to make sure that you have just enough food and drink without crazy leftovers is probably my most pressing concern. There have been plenty of more-involved parties with catering and activities and decorations but for the Christmas party, we like to keep it simple so we actually have time to spend with our guests. The Selfie Christmas party involves some classic staples: apps from Trader Joe’s, sparkling wine, beer and of course, Mr. Selfie’s famous eggnog.
For the last few years, we’ve also played the game Fishbowl which is a great way for everyone to get to know each other and is also completely hilarious. Fishbowl consists of writing any five words or phrases on scraps of paper, splitting up into two teams and then going through three rounds:
1) Taboo style – you can say anything but the words on the scrap;
2) Describe the phrase or word but you only get one word; and 3) Charades.
Everyone’s turn is one minute and the team that guesses the most answers correctly wins. Also (and most importantly), dear, sweet baby Beyoncé – it’s always fun for my former classmates to get deeeeeply competitive and very strict about the rules.
I always try to add a little something special – extra decorations, a special dish or the introduction of the game Fishbowl. But this year, I added a little photo station complete with props and a ring light – A (s)Elf-ie station, if you will! Our friends had a blast taking goofy-as-hell but also, very glam photos. It was super easy to set up and a simple set of instructions meant that everyone was able to use their own phone to take their photos!
How about you? What’s your favorite holiday tradition with your friends? How do you add a special touch to your parties?
