This picture has nothing to do with the post, but it is my favorite Christmas decoration.
This was the year that Jon was in charge of the food for the
ward party. Jon! In charge of feeding 200 people! For a man whose cooking repertoire extends
little past scrabbled eggs and his meal planning skills even more limited, it’s
just so unlikely and comical, really. He
called it karma.
You see, Jon’s not much of a party man. I mean, he’s supportive of a ward Christmas
party and all, but he’d never be the one to desire or delight in a big
to-do. He’s very content to let
responsibilities for the party planning to fall on those who really like that sort
of thing. So while he was still serving
as bishop several months ago and the YM president very eagerly volunteered for
the YM to be in charge of the food for the ward Christmas party, he didn’t hesitate
to OK it.
He knew he’d likely be released by the time the Christmas
party came around but never would’ve guessed that that YM president would be
called to the new bishopric and that Jon would be taking his place--and
inheriting the charge of feeding a Christmas dinner to the entire ward.
It may have been easier for him to attempt Alyssa’s beam
routine, poor guy. So that’s where I
came in to make sure it would all come together. We did a lot of price comparison and math
calculations to make sure we’d have enough food for the expected 150 people and
still stay under budget. I suggested we
plan for 200 just to make sure we had enough food.
Next, we bought the ingredients for cheesy potatoes and I
taught the YM how to make them for their mutual activity. They did a great job!
We bought the hams and assigned those out to the YM leaders
to be cooked. Jon sent around sign-ups
for rolls and more cheesy potatoes. (The
YM only made 7 pans that night and we needed more than twice that many.) I made all of the green beans and we bought
all of the pumpkin pie, cookies, cupcakes and green salad. SO much work!
All loaded up and ready to go. I brought my camera thinking I get lots of pictures but didn't end up having a spare minute to take any.
We had all of the food ready and the YM prepared to serve
it, but I started to panic as I saw the throngs of people flooding into the
church—many of whom I did not even know. This
was more than the 200 that we’d thought we’d over-planned for. I’m not trying to be facetious or
sacrilegious when I say that we witnessed a small miracle. It was like the feeding of the 5000. I don’t know how we had enough food. But we did.
Barely.
I think there was a nice program but I wouldn’t know because
we spent the evening in the kitchen. I
came away exhausted and with a burned finger from serving ham but it was
totally worth the endless gushing of “thank you” that I got from Jon all week
long.
And Caleb and I had to speak in sacrament meeting the next
day, too. Busy week.
Our ward has had a lot of successful Christmas parties that
have been planned by very able people. I
think this one could be called a success, too.
What Christmas season would be complete without the ward
party?
4 comments:
So, no breakfast this year? Glad it worked out though--food wise! Hooray for miracles!
When my mom first told me about Jon being in charge of the ward party, I had to laugh. I commented that you, then would really be in charge. She said I wasn't the first to make that comment. Jon is one lucky guy! Sounds like a lot of work, but a successful event. Way to go!
It was a big success and the food was delicious. Way to go Hatch's. Thanks for all your hard work (and miracle making).
Nice work! Sounds yummy!
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