Open House Plans

Our Christmas Open House for our church family is scheduled for December 21st. Things seem to be going well in planning, and I've been buying extra things here and there so I don't have to spend a whole lot of money at once. Here's the menu:

Ham rolls
Shrimp ring with cocktail sauce
Veggie Christmas tree with dip
Cheese ball and crackers
Variety of homemade cookies
Mixed nuts and dried fruits
Coffee with cream, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate
Tea with cream, honey, and lemon
Hot spiced cider

When we lived in the US, a deal like this would have had LOTS of sweets. But here in Vancouver folks tend to not eat as many sweets. We learned that the hard way! Last year, in preparation for beginning our church, we had a Christmas meeting with the three families who were interested in starting with us. I fixed all kinds of sweets, with no fruit or vegetables. No one ate very much, and we had so many leftovers that we were eating them for days. As we became more familiar with the ways of people here, we realized that they usually brought more healthy foods to dinners and parties, so this year I decided on more practical things. The only sweets will be the cookies, and they're not heavy. All of the foods I have planned are finger foods, too, so we don't have to worry with flatware.

This party will be a drop-in. People are welcome to come and go as they please. I'm still trying to figure out what to make to give away. I'd like for each family to have a little something to take home, but I'm torn between a couple of things. I'll have to decide soon so I can get them made up!