Thursday, December 22, 2011

Chaparral Genealogical Society Christmas Party

Earlier this month, the Chaparral Genealogical Society had its annual Christmas party. Since I am a new member, this was my first time there. My son came with me.

The event was held in the community room of a local park. It was semi-catered. The star of the show was chicken and dumplings. Members also brought side dishes.

The white dish at the bottom of this photo
held blueberry cheesecake. It was SO GOOD!

During the meal, we took turns introducing ourselves, talking about our given names and where we were from. Most everyone was local, but there were a few out-of-staters.  We also played a silly quick game that led to two people winning a little pocket money. The rest of us had a lot of laughs.

Next up was that game where everyone brings a present and you can take presents from others. You know the one...

Gifts for the exchange. Photo credit: my son

Since this was my first society party with this group, I didn't know the drill. Everyone brought Christmas gifts. I brought a genealogy gift. And I forgot to wrap it spectacularly.

My present is the small, flat, green square one. 
Not much to look at among all these big gift bags.

The person that drew my present number didn't look too thrilled when handed the gift. Someone in the crowd correctly identified the shape as a CD, but the recipient wasn't swayed.

Until he opened it, read the front, read the back and realized that good things do come in small packages.

It was a Google for Genealogists webinar led by Thomas MacEntee for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

Whew! My gift was a hit. Nobody likes to be the one who brought the dud gift.

Speaking of hit gifts, my son got this one and loved it.

A chihuahua that sings ¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?
and dances when you press its paw.

The party wound down after the gift exchange. There were some door prizes. I won one. My son won one. And our tablemate (and sometimes blog reader) Larry won one. I think we were a pretty lucky table!

I had fun at the party and I'm pretty sure my son did, too. 

If you're in the Houston area, consider coming to the next meeting of the Chaparral Genealogical Society on January 28, 2012. Address and other details are here

4 comments:

  1. How fun, Amy! I love the gift you chose to bring and the one your son won! Merry Christmas!

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  2. Yes fun was had by all. The chicken & dumplings was from Mel's Country Kitchen close by. Our Chaparral Library has some one of a kind genealogy books and family genealogy books from the Klein, Theiss, Hillegeist, and many other families from the area. Also church records from Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas.


    Chaparral Genealogical Society, Inc.
    310 North Live Oak, P.O. Box 606, Tomball, TX. 77377- 0606
    Phone: 281 516-7417
    Library Hours: Mon.- Wed. 10-2 Sat. 10-2
    Closed 4th Sat. of every month

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  3. Hmm, yet another way to play the Grinch Exchange or whatever you want to call that game. Never heard of putting numbers on the presents and people drawing the numbers! Can you still steal gifts after that?

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