Birthday Party Preparations

Wednesday my mom and sister were holder uppers to assist Mr. Welder in installing the stair handrail. This item had a star by it on our to-do list in hopes we would have it crossed off before our guests arrive on Christmas day.
And it is officially crossed off the list and it looks and works great. (Yes, we are going to trim where the floor meets the wall-it's on the list but doesn't have a star.)

This handrail came from my Grandpa. He believed and told us that it came from the old Cox's building. Others think he may not have his facts straight, but no matter where it originally came from, I am proud it came from my Grandpa and wish he was still here to see it.

It is the perfect size and look for our house, rust and all. I am sure my dad would have painted it if he would have gotten the chance. Mr. Welder did a fine job of constructing this doo-dad to attach it to the wall. It is so cute.

I spent my evening setting the tables for Christmas lunch. Between Christmas parties and cooking I decided this task could be one crossed off the list a little early since everything can't be done at the last minute. Our guests would probably prefer fresher food than fresher greenery :) (Besides this will give the greenery a chance to match our crunchy Christmas tree.) Actually, most will probably wonder why I put weeds in their coffee cups.

The majority of the china came from my Granny. She and my grandpa received the set as a wedding gift from his mother. My grandpa won the silverware somewhere, somehow before he was married, but that is all he remembers. That is why I write this stuff down ;)

We are expecting twelve people for lunch and at least that many more visitors throughout the rest of the day.

We aren't normally a formal family but I like to use the fancy stuff (why not?) but in a laid back way. And I am not trying to be bossy and tell people where to sit but doesn't a place card make you feel special? Someone prepared a place especially for you to sit...weeds and all.

The only other time I've hosted a dinner similar to this was on Valentine's weekend our first married year. We had fourteen guests all at one long table (three tables put together) in our little trailer house. It was a special day I will never forget. We had our parents and their parents all there. When we were married, we were fortunate to have our parents and grandparents all living and still together. I am so happy we did not wait to move to our bigger house to celebrate the generations of love that provide an example for our marriage. If we would have, three spots would now be unoccupied. This was the first time I used the china and silverware and was the beginning of the table cloth you may have noticed on the breakfast nook table. The guests at the Valentine dinner signed the cloth and my mom embroidered their signatures. Through the years, I plan to add signatures of guests that take part in special dinners at our home.

My mom bought this china for me at an estate sale. It complements my Granny's china, which works out nicely.

The second time I used the china was for my cousin's bridal shower. This will be the third occasion.

Sorry, I took so many pictures. I have a bad memory and wanted to document and remember our first Christmas in the Weld House.

On Christmas, our family divides the menu to help the hosts out. It really keeps the stress at a minimum. I am baking a cake and making a meat & cheese snack tray. Mr. Welder is frying the turkey. I am proud of him for taking this on (my mom was going to cook it before he decided he wanted to) and can't wait to see how it turns out.

I also thought I'd share a sample of my gift wrapping this year. To go with the vintage theme (I guess this goes with that?), I wrapped gifts in newspaper and used Granny's old ribbons. This worked out nicely since I don't actually have any wrapping paper anyways. And you know I am always up for reusing and recycling.

Mr. Welder (aka the Hoodlum) must want to do a Christmas puzzle too (ha) because he got busy on the game room table. We ended up not having enough long flooring scraps either, so he removed them all, and used wood he had left from the first house he bought...was that over 10 years ago, now? Wow.

Now he just needs to nail the boards down so I can lay out the puzzle pieces. That way my sister won't have to act like she is busy during that part :)

The Welders wish you a Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!