So it seems I have not been diligent enough in recording the doings on Norwood, as is attested to by the nagging of some of my readers (I'm looking at you, Ann). So here is my first attempt to hit rewind and record some of the events I neglected to document before.
Part 1: Cookie Party
For two years now, Cookie Party has been a hallowed annual tradition here on Norwood. Cookie Party consists of me making many sugar cookies in holiday shapes and obtaining an embarassing amount of holiday-themed embellishments. The final piece slides into place when I invite the small children of my neighborhood over to decorate these cookies by smearing frosting and applying sprinkles to both the sweet treats and themselves. Drop cloths assist in easy clean-up.
Last year's first annual cookie party was a grand success, and cries for a 2008 edition soon followed.
Applying the lessons of last year, I made a few changes in this year's plan. These included:
* Taking advantage of modern freezer technology to make and store cookies a few weeks in advance of said party to avoid pre-party preparation crunch.
* Slip-covering the diningroom chairs in cut-up plastic tablecloths to avoid the spilling of colored frosting and (yes) red wine on their cream-colored cloth seats.
* Purchasing even more supermarket gel icing squirters, since these seemed to be such a hit the year before.
* Making it clear in advance to all parents that I was very much OK with the idea that the post-cookie-sugar-crash would provide an excellent transition into parent-oriented happy hour, with the aid of some kid-style movies that could be lent by aforementioned parents.
* Removing all death- and injury-inducing items from our livingroom (pocket knives, laser pointers, nail clippers, cigarette lighters, cat o' nine tails, etc.), and placing all crystals, porcelains, and other valuables out of reach of small hands.
* Obtaining multitudinous toys from the dollar bin at Target, to be placed under the Christmas tree for general merriment and take-home gifts.
These preparations in place, the day of cookie party arrived attended by great excitement and a monumental snow fall. The latter led to yet another, hopefully soon-to-be repeated tradition, the transformation of the Caseys' front steps into a sledding hill. (See alternate sources for a full-photo record and video 1 and video 2 of this event).
After sledding, I returned to my cozy home to finalize preparations. Guests began arriving after 3pm, and festivities were soon well and truly underway. Highlights included:
* The new cookie-decorating efforts of young Anika, who displayed a determination and focus seldom seen in a such a tiny girl. She sat, fascinated for hours, emptying tube after tube of gel frosting onto a single cookie. When, at intervals, her tube would run out, she would hold it up to me with brow furrowed, as if to say, "What the hell?"
* The repeated, worried question "Can we eat them when we're done?", which repeatedly garnered the reply of "Um, yeah, I'm not planning to make a cookie art gallery with them." This followed by greedy gobbling, greedy gobbling, and more greedy gobbling.
* The constant tug-of-war between two schools of cookie decoration: the commitment to "cookie as art" versus "how much crap can I load onto one cookie?"
* The decision by some artisans to don protective eyewear to avoid the dreaded "jimmies in the eyes" risk.
* The retirement of parents to the livingroom for uninterrupted adult snacks during the first wave of decoration.
* After cookie decoration, the grand migration of kids into the livingroom for movie-watching, dancing, skipping, and general merriment, to be replaced by parents, snacks and many bottles of wine on the diningroom table.
* A visit by block favorite Jon Hey, who entertained the crowd with carols on the keyboard.
* The slow and steady drunkening of parents as children undergo a similar stupor of sugar-crash.
All in all, a grand success. To many more cookie parties!
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