A Party in the Making

Well, I've surprised myself by actually planning a party. It will happen on a weekday during the first week of December while children are in school. I am inviting nine friends over for brunch and a cookie swap...I know, it does seem a bit suburban and Martha-ish for the likes of me, but maybe I'll add a little punk rock and polka to the expected background holiday music for a touch of rebellion.

This is what I have in mind:

menu
Shrimp and grits (yes, I am originally from the deep, deep south)
Ham and biscuits (I learned to make biscuits from Aunt Dolly when I was 10, and from then on have been the designated biscuit baker for all family occasions)
Quiche (with spinach, mushrooms and gruyere)
Salad greens with clementine wedges (balsamic vinaigrette topped with sunflower seeds)
Fresh fruit salad
Assortment of small finger desserts...tarts, cream puffs, petit-fours

I'll ask each friend to bring 6-dozen home baked holiday cookies, and we'll swap...so each will go home with a mixture of 6-dozen cookies to put in the freezer and serve to guests as needed over the holiday season.

Two of my friends are Jewish, one is Pagan, and one insists she is going to celebrate Festivus...but all of us love cookies and are excited to try this. It will be an interesting group of women...some new friends and some old friends. I am considering having some simple craft we could make together and take home as a gift...am trying to figure out what that might be....I have to pull out my secret stash of Living magazines for inspiration (though I purged nearly all of my extensive magazine collection during the cure, I just couldn't bring myself to part with the holiday issues of Living or the now defunct Martha Stewart Kids, I have those 20-odd magazines neatly hidden away in a basement cupboard for an occasion such as this.)

B.C. (before children), we used to entertain friends for dinner on a regular basis, but have done so infrequently in the past few years, since my children seem to turn into circus performers, wild things, or spawn of the devil the instant any visitor crosses the threshold. This is why the party aspect of the cure seemed so daunting to me, but by hosting this during school hours, the little complications are removed from the equation.