Pre-Christmas Festivities - Dec. 12 - Dec. 19, 2015

Saturday, December 12: Travelers World RV Resort gift exchange party was lots of fun. We gathered at 7pm in the Recreation Hall. Each person chose a number.

Mike selecting a number from the basket

When everyone had a number, the numbers were called in order. The first person whose number was called chose a gift from a table full of brown-paper-bag-wrapped gifts. As soon as you touched a bag it was yours (no shaking or trying to feel what was in the bag).

Table full of brown bags

Waiting for numbers to be called

Let's get this party started!

The early gifts were not stolen. It was not until the pig slippers below were unwrapped that things got interesting.

Bill with pig slippers

Gloria was very interested in the pig slippers and stole them from Bill.

Gloria stealing the pig slippers

Then the dog slippers were opened

From that point on, many gifts were stolen. A gift could only be stolen twice, then it belonged to that person. Popular gifts were wine, beer, slippers, food, and a purse.

Squirrel Brand nuts, traveler's mix

Karen opened a bag and found the biggest flask we had ever seen. Let's see how long she keeps it.

Karen with her new flask

MaryAnn opened up a container of truffles

Felix stole the flask.

Joslyn with her new bag.

When the gift exchange was over, Terry played dance tunes and a number of couples took a spin on the dance floor.

Steve and Margaret; Deena and Larry

Carol in her western wear

Darwin and Shirley

Line dancing is always popular. Here are BettyAnn, Lydia and Francine showing us how it's done.

BettyAnn, Lydia and Francine line dancing

We had a fun time and some laughs. One of the gifts was a "wife tamer remote control" which, when you pressed buttons, said things like, "Bring me a cold beer." The man's wife said, "That won't work. Get your own darn beer."

Sunday, December 13: My friend Susan M. has a cookie exchange party for her girlfriends once a year. She had it today from 2-5 p.m. She invited Bob over too and he could watch sports on their big-screen hi-def TV. We arrived early so I could bake my cookies in her big oven, and help her make and set up the hors d'oeuvres for the party.

Susan and Darren's Christmas tree

When everyone arrived, we put all our cookies on the dining room table, then went in the kitchen for wine and hors d'oeuvres. As we sat around the table, we had a chance to talk about our families, Christmas plans and walking.

Beautiful layout of the hors d'oeuvres

Hors d'oeuvres

Then we moved into the dining room, took our trays we brought, and walked around the table collecting cookies as we went. We picked up sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, Almond Joy cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate fudge mint cookies, fudge, apricot jam bars, date bars, chocolate-caramel-nut bars, and macaroons.

Sugar cookies

Macaroons

Snickerdoodles and chocolate/caramel bars

Chocolate-covered marshmallows

Apricot and date bars

The cookie exchange is my favorite holiday tradition in San Antonio, along with walking to see the holiday lights on the River Walk. Thank you, Susan, for inviting us to your home for the cookie exchange party!

Saturday, December 19: Travelers World RV Resort had their annual Christmas parade at 6pm. Decorated golf carts and a decorated stroller with a beautiful calico cat inside made a round of the RV park, then stopped in the Rec Hall for hot cocoa, cookies and singing Christmas carols.

Golf cart parade

Stan, Pat and Lanora

Joslyn and Warren

Fran and Tom

Pam and Bob

Back decor on Pam and Bob's cart

Cat in decorated stroller

Steve and Margaret

Guest from Australia in a beer shirt

Don and Jocelyne leading Christmas carols

Stan and Lanora

In addition to the parade, we also judged who had the best Christmas lights display at their RV site. The 2016 winner is Steve.

Terry congratulating Steve on the win

A good time was had by all.

Another Gift Exchange? - Tues., December 16, 2014

After our Sunday cookie exchange fun day, I worked for Snelling staffing as a temp office assistant on Monday, December 15, for an insurance company in north central San Antonio.

At noon on Tuesday I had my hair trimmed. Tuesday evening, River City Seafood and Grill in north central San Antonio was the location of our Randolph Roadrunners Volksmarch Club Christmas Dinner and Gift Exchange. Bob and I had a meeting with our financial adviser at 3:30 p.m. and decided to go directly to the restaurant afterward. One never knows what kind of traffic may be encountered around rush hour in San Antonio.

Our drive was slow for a short way, then flowed freely. We arrived at the restaurant an hour early. The banquet room was set up and ready for our group, so they turned on the lights and let us in. We had our own private waiter for almost 45 minutes. Bob brought in his Michael Connelly novel to read while I drank two glasses of wine and had a shrimp cocktail. (I hadn't had lunch and was quite hungry!) By the time the club members started arriving, I was feeling pretty good.

We had 30 people present at dinner. It was not catered, we ordered off the menu. I had a strawberry, pecan, feta cheese salad with grilled chicken. Yummy. Our dinner service staff was exceptional.

My friend, Susan M., with her wreath halo. LOL.

Susan M. and her son, Travis.

Travis listening attentively

Susan M. and Travis

Gift exchanges are fun to observe. Gifts were to be around $10 and we could wrap them as prettily as we wanted. I guess I was still on the brown paper bag band wagon from the RV park gift exchange. I wrapped one gift in a brown gift bag, stuffed the bag with three colors of tissue and tied the handles with dark brown raffia. That was the bottle of chocolate covered almonds. The other gift was wrapped in blue and white dove Christmas paper and had a bunch of shimmering blue, silver and white curled ribbons tied on it. That was the book "Unbroken."

Our gift exchange numbers were in a treat bag we had been given when we arrived. "No looking in the bags until we tell you," the organizers instructed.

When the time came, we opened our treat bags so we could start the gift exchange. No one had #1, so I started with #2. That meant at the end I could steal someone else's gift if it hadn't already been stolen twice before. I don't remember what my gift was - something I didn't want or need. Bob had #3 so he went right after me. His gift was a Ghiradelli hot chocolate gift bag complete with mini marshmallows and chocolate stirring spoon. Yum!

Below is our American Volkssport Association (AVA) Southwest Regional Director, Joanne Forinash. Her gift is so perfect. It's a turquoise and silver charm necklace with hiking boots, a walking stick, AVA letters, and a roadrunner (for the Randolph Roadrunners club). The necklace was made by Susan Ives, one of our club members. Everyone loved it (and wanted one, I think).

Speaking of Susan Ives, she offered to assist me with Publicity duties for the Randolph Roadrunners Volksmarch Club which is perfect. She specializes in radio and TV media, I specialize in print and online media.  Woo hoo. Thank you, Susan. (And, yes, there were three Susans sitting near each other at this party.)

Joanne Forinash, SW Regional Director for AVA

By the end of the evening, I was chomping at the bit to steal someone else's gift. My first choice would have been the movie gift card, but someone stole it for the second time almost at the end. My second choice would have been the necklace, but it was too perfect for Joanne and a good gift for all the hard work she puts in at AVA.

Bob got to keep the hot chocolate gift bag. I chose an insulated lunch bag that looks more like a purse. A big insulated pocket is for your lunch fixins and another big pocket is for other purse stuff. Plus there's an exterior smart phone holder with a snap hold down and a zippered outside pocket. It came with a plastic lunch container that has a part you can freeze to keep it cold in the insulated compartment. There's even a smaller plastic container that will be perfect for a serving of salad dressing. I love it and use it for lunch when I'm working.

Insulated lunch bag/purse on left, my current purse on right.

After a lovely evening, we all made our way back to our cozy abodes.

Travel Bug out.