Our caterer, MacArthur, arrived promptly prior to the party server arriving to set up the catered meats on chafing dishes.
MacArthur is cutting up the lamb lollipops.
He cooked the lamb to about medium since the chafing dish was going to keep cooking it too.
Our party server, Michele, arrived at the designated time to set up the house for the party. We have used her before to serve at our parties.
Michele is making my mom's famous holiday punch, but we had to subsitute orange sherbert for the lime since the store was out of lime.
We put out the brandy so Michele could offer after dinner drinks to our guests.
The meats looked great, but they tasted even better! MacArthur is a great caterer!
Michele was asked to serve champagne or cider to our guests upon arrival, but we also had a tray with treats so she could offer the kids a treat too.
The Gingerbread House was the centerpiece of the table, and we designed our theme for the party around it.
Joy made the Gingerbread House. Joy got Micke and Minnie plates since they loves Disney.
We had the downstairs decorated well with Christmas decorations.
My mother is pictured here with Joy and me.
Joy and I are pictured here.
My mom and I are pictured here. She is wearing a sari, which is a traditional Indian dress for women.
Joy made the loot bags for the kids with a snowman cookie and candy cane!
Our guests are beginning to arrive here.
Here are some of the guests mingling.
Michele is serving Keith his dinner here. She is a very sweet and amazing helper at our parties!
I broke out a new bottle of rye whiskey that I got from Flaviar after dinner. It was called Saginaw Rye.
Eric took his rye neat instead of on the rocks. LOL. He introduced me to Flavair. That ice in my glass is not cheap! It is my signature 70 cent a piece ice made of New Zealand water.
We had not hosted a Holiday Party since 2016 so I figured 2021 was the perfect time to bring back the tradition at the Roy House! I hired a caterer who we used for Thanksgiving this year for the meats. He designed a great menu that included smoked chicken and lamb lollipops. He even made a homemade mint sauce for the lamb! The sauce was amazing! We also had candied yams, Indian inspired rice, Joy's famous stuffing, corn, and lots of desserts! I got Joy a gingerbread house this year so we decided to make the theme focused around that.
Our usual party server/helper, Michele, was there too to help keep the party moving smoothly. She is a big help to Joy and me at our parties! Due to COVID, she asked if she could be masked this year. Joy and I do not believe in masking, but we allowed her to since we wanted her to be comfortable. Michele helped set up the place, made my mom's famous holiday punch, served champagne or cider to guests upon arrival, and she even served the dinner. After dinner, she offered coffee and brandy to guests. Moreover, we had a special platter of Starbucks treats for the kids so they would not feel left out when Michele was serving champagne to the adults. LOL. She also helped clean up after. Eric recently introduced me to Flaviar, a spirits club which sends a tasting box of high end liquor as well as one bottle of whiskey, bourbon, mezcal, tequila, etc to one's house per quarter. So, I opened up the bottle of Saginaw Rye Whiskey that I got with my first order for the group. I usually drink in my Angel's Envy glass pictured above which I got at the distillery in Louisville. That ice is super expensive too! I only use New Zealand Waiwera water for those cubes! LOL.
Our guests brought either wine, desserts, or a side dish also to share with everyone. We had a smaller crowd this year than past years, but we all had a great time still. Trudy and Eric brought lots of wine, and we had some great pairings with either the chicken or lamb. My mom was also there. She enjoyed herself a lot.
What about the kids? I set them up in my home office with Disney+ so they could watch whatever kid friendly movie they wanted. I have a 50 inch 4K SmartTV in the office so I can easily bring up Disney+ on there. Also, Michele had loot bags for them!