It’s time for Christmas parties.

I love this time of year. The weather is crisp, people are in good moods and it’s a good time to reflect on the past year.

We usually go to a few Christmas parties. Several Sunday School groups at our church are going together for a party and that should be a lot of fun.

When we moved into our house in 1997, Memorial Bible Church used to have a “progressive dinner” for Christmas for the adults of the church. In a progressive dinner, you eat appetizers at someone’s house and then you drive to someone else’s house for salad, someone else’s house for the main course and then finally someone else’s house for the dessert.

We have a large living room and we volunteered in 1997 to host one of the main course destinations.

Fifty-seven people signed up to come to our house.

Wow.

Fortunately, our 25×25-foot living room could accommodate that many folks. We pushed the furniture to the walls, set up tables and had a swell time feeding 57.

Most of the courses in the progressive dinner were potluck but the church provided the main dish, which that year was a delicious baked ham.

And for years, everyone in the church gathered at one home for dessert. Usually, that was at the home of Dr. Darwin and Barbara Olson, who have a lovely home that can accommodate a large crowd.

We didn’t always make it to the dessert stop because we were cleaning up from the main course at our house.

Sometimes, the progressive dinner was scheduled on the same night as the Big 12 Championship game. If OU was playing in that game, you would have some no-shows and some of the houses would have the game on in a back room for the die-hard fans.

One of the fun things we use to do was to have our Sunday School class go caroling on a weekend night in December.

This included members and their kids. We drove in a caravan to the homes of elderly ladies who were members of our church. We didn’t tell them we were coming and they really brightened up when they opened their doors and saw a group of families singing their favorite Christmas carols.

Sometimes we had song sheets but usually we sang from memory. People didn’t to have great voices – just enthusiasm.

Afterwards, we went to someone’s house and had hot chocolate, apple cider and dessert. It was fun for all.

Older folks can feel abandoned during the holidays and some physically can’t be too active and don’t want to get out at night, especially when the weather is bad.

I have been to some company Christmas parties and I don’t miss them at all. Back in the 1990s, companies would pay for liquor at Christmas parties. Some may still do so. I am not a drinker, so having booze at a party is not a plus.

We had one company Christmas party when two of the ladies showed up in the same red dress they both bought from Dillard’s. One of the women could care less but the other one was devastated because she spent a lot of money for a dress she would rarely wear.

I do like getting at least a little dressed up for Christmas parties. I don’t mean a tuxedo or even a tie but it is nice to put on a stylish red or green Christmas sweater and add to the mood.

On a smaller scale, I went to company Christmas parties in which we exchanged “Dirty Santa” gifts. These are not supposed to be expensive and they should be funny. Someone always spends too much on a nice gift and usually someone else brings a rotten gift.

You draw names and they first name picks one of the wrapped gifts and opens it. The next person picks one and has the option of trading the second pick for the first gift. Ideally, you want to pick last so you don’t get stuck with a bad or ugly gift.

I bought a gallon of chocolate pudding from Sam’s Club one time as Dirty Santa gift and the guy who wound up with it ate the whole thing.

Finger food is important at Christmas parties. I like the dips, especially broccoli because I feel I can eat a lot it without feeling guilty. Appetizers are important and you have to have Christmas cookies. Pot luck Christmas parties are terrific as people bring their favorite holiday dishes.

Of course, the best Christmas “parties” are with families. The Biggs Family tries to get together on or around Christmas. It gets harder now that all of our kids are grown and some live in other states.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.