Party Day Morning.....

I really should say "middle of the morning," being that as I type this, the time is 4:00. I was sleeping peacefully till Mickey Kitty started to bother AngelBoy...... they both spent the night in our bedroom. Little Mickey is getting very territorial with the master bedroom suite....... he thinks he's the master because he's been spending so much time in there. All of that will change when we take the big tree down and he can have access to the whole house again.

This has been a challenge....... one little kitten with that big tree. AngelBoy was a kitten for his first Christmas here, but all he did with the big living room tree was crawl under it to nap, which is something he still does. Mickey is the first kitten we've had who has tried to climb to the top of the tree.

Everything is ready for the party tonight, except for the last-minute things on my party to-do list. With every party we give, it seems to get easier. My to-do list gets revised at least twice a year, as I make the preparations easier and more efficient. (Preparations get more elaborate, but somehow seem easier.) For this year's Christmas party, I started six days before today, rather than three days before. The result has been that I don't feel so tired. I've even got my clothes for tonight all picked out, which is something I used to leave for the morning of the party. Now I take care of that three days before party-day.... clothes, shoes, stockings, jewelry... everything is picked out and ready.

The weather even seems to be cooperating. It has gotten warmer, which means I'll be able to leave Gracie and the cats on the screen-porch tonight. Much better than having them all in the laundry room during the party.

The tables are all set up and ready.... all I have to do is put the tablecloths on-- something I don't ever do until I put the cats out on the screen-porch. Centerpieces are made.... I used all of my red and green beaded fruit, arranged in simple white and gold bowls in the center of the three tables. I have the bowls resting on beaded round placemats, which are Christmas-red with green trim, and they look great. Great hint from one of the decorating shows on HGTV--- instead of buying centerpieces, look around your house for things that you can use for the center of your table. I always find something, and it always looks better than whatever I could possibly think of to buy. For the small table in the breakfast room, I used my little Christmas pixies... they're sitting around a small porcelain Christmas tree, all resting on top of a little round mirror so it looks like everything is on a piece of ice.

Enough of this for the moment. It's quarter after four.... I plan to get back in bed and sleep for a few more hours. I'm sure at some point today, I will get the usual pre-party thought running through my head: "What if no one shows up?" I usually think of that late in the afternoon on party day, as I'm getting dressed, or setting up the coffee urn.

But everyone always shows up. And everyone always has a great time, and they walk out the door with smiles on their faces and asking "So... when's the next party?!"