Lindsay/Vanderwel Family Christmas Party

On December 22, we met at Aunt Joanie's church for a Lindsay/Vanderwel Family Christmas party!

Right after Thanksgiving, Dave was thinking about how much fun he used to have with his cousins at Christmas time, so he called his aunt and said, "We ought to have a family Christmas party like when we were younger!" Aunt Joan was smart and replied, "Great idea! You're in charge and Charonne will help you." That meant that JODY and Charonne would be planning the event!

The evening was a hit. I really think it was. We met at 6:00pm which meant we didn't start dinner until 6:45pm. We decided to do it easy with soups, chowders, rolls, green salad and strawberry/raspberry cheesecakes for dessert!

Dinner....YUM!

While we ate, Dave and I went around taking a few pictures of our family.

Dale and Cindy

Cheri

The 3rd generation Lindsay/Vanderwel grandchildren

Uncle Jim and the cute kids

Mandy was all about supper!

Carson, Jeffrey, Elex, Jaxson and Hope

Vanderwels and Watts

Dave and Jody

The next few pictures might scare you, put they are self-taken-pictures of Dave:

Alyssa was a hoot! She was playing around with
Grandma Barbie throughout the meal.

Charisse's kids played their violins beautifully!

Bryson and Tyler playing a duet.

I thought it would be a great idea for the grandparents to share favorite Christmas memories from their childhoods with us and the grandkids. Uncle Jim told an amazing story about Christmas in Holland when a German soldier came in on Christmas eve and they ended up being friends throughout the next days, weeks and years.

Bentley looked so old playing the cello. Darling boy!

Poppi told a story about his German grandmother melting lead and predicting the future, a tradition I teach my German students each year during our Christmas unit.

Tyler, an accomplished violinist, played Silent Night. It was incredible!

Aunt Joan told about Christmas morning and going down to Hollywood for the parade. She is always so interesting to listen to.

Brittney sang a Christmas song

Grandma Barbie finished off the night with showing one of her favorite Christmas gifts...a beautiful doll!

Here are some more pictures of dinner with the gang!

WHITE ELEPHANT FUN!

After the program, I gathered the young kids for white elephant while the adults got their game ready on the other side of the gym. The kids were so energized and excited to play.

Charelle's daughter and Taylor walked around holding hands the entire night.
It was so darling.

Adult White Elephant

We had the greatest time!

Thanks for the great times, Vanderwels and Lindsays! Until next year!