Last night we hosted our first-ever 'Carols & Cocktails' party. I don't know that it worked out necessarily like we were thinking, but it was a good time nonetheless.
We have been trying to think of something to host in our home for some time that wasn't "church-y" at all, but had somewhat of a spiritual flavor to it. We've talked about 'beer & hymns' or 'bible tasting and beer study' or something along those lines. You know, to try to get some people who have an interest in the things of Jesus together without it being overly religious in nature. I don't know, I guess maybe we're just too wildly idealistic and it's probably a stupid idea. On the other hand, I kind of miss things like singing old hymns and such. Not to the point that I want to go to a church that does it, but I thought a 'Carols & Cocktails' event would be a nice compromise.
So I created a public "event" on Facebook and sent direct invitations to maybe 30-40 people, but also invited anyone and everyone on my friends list as well. We ended up with daughter Carrie, our friend Mike, a friend from my work, and a couple we sometimes go out to eat with. Again, it was a fun time, and probably worked out better with a smaller group anyway, but it didn't really pan out the way I envisioned it. I was hoping for a few more people, and we didn't sing any carols. Mostly we just hung out, ate, talked, and listened to Christmas music on Pandora.
One thing I actually thought of this morning is that, unlike in the past when something like this would have happened (unmet expectations), I didn't really even think about it last night. I enjoyed the time we had and was very satisfied. It was a nice small party, and we all lived to tell about it.
The only real negative now is that we've got a ton of unhealthy food and drinks left over for Jane and I to have to feed on. Ugh. Well if I have to....
