A Holiday Soirée

One of my favorite things about this time of year is sharing it with good friends. Friday night, I had about 15 of my closest compadres over for a little holiday soirée.

All Decked Out: A bevy of candles added a nice touch to my Christmas decor

While enjoying cocktails (white wine and vodka mixers) and assorted snacks (mini chocolate cupcakes, chips and dip and a cheese platter), I caught up on everyone’s news.

Editor/tango dancer/diva extraordinaire Heidi mentioned her new weekly gig as a vocalist with the Steve Marshall Band at Mr. Biggs Bar & Grill. Fellow PR maven and blogger Lyla introduced me to her delightful husband David, and filled me in on their interfaith holiday festivities (she’s Jewish, he’s Catholic). And travel writer Amanda told me about the progress she’s making with her upcoming book, The Lost Girls, and plans to spend Christmas with her boyfriend in his Kansas hometown.

That’s What Friends Are For: Celebrating the season with Amanda and Jonathan, good buddies since we all went to Barbados on a press trip back in ‘05.

The only downside of the evening -- my eternal worry as a hostess that there was enough food and drink. I invariably tend to overcompensate, putting out a bigger spread than necessary (and somehow managing to get a post-party refund from the supermarket when I return liters of soda and bags of chips).

Once again, there was plenty left over. This time though, I didn’t mind. I knew my friends were too busy having fun to overindulge.

As the party winded down around 1am, my dear friend Tiffany stayed behind to help me clean up, and talk about our plans for Christmas Day. Let the seasonal merrymaking continue!