Party Prep

Today was our annual "Grandparent's Dinner" with the Young Women/Young Men. We divide up between seven host families where two "grandparent age" couples or four "grandparent age" singles gather with six youth and two youth leaders. We (Me, Camille and Nancy) cook all the food and deliver it to the hosts so they don't have to worry about meal prep. We meet at our homes at 6:30. Have dinner and conversation for an hour. Then meet up all together for dessert. The adults love it because its a good chance for them to get to know some youth in the ward. The youth have the experience of making dinner conversation. (We print out questions for them to ask!) And the adult leaders help facilitate the conversation when it lulls.

It's a fun evening. This year I knew what to expect for food prep, so I was prepared to block out the whole day. It was fun working and cooking with friends. I also brought my own potato peelers, so I could peel efficiently! Camille has super high potato standards, so I was prepared for that as well! No frozen potato funeral casserole for this youth group. We peeled, chopped, boiled and mashed 45 pounds of potatoes. Took us three hours. Also ham, cranberry sauce, mustard sauce, rolls, salad & fruit.

Dan cooked the four pounds of bacon that got added to the potato casserole for me. He's the best. 

I hosted and loved getting out my Christmas dishes and setting the table the night before. Can you believe I forgot to take a photo? It looked so pretty!

I also polished my silver napkin rings and learned a neat Pinterest trick: Line a cake pan with tin foil. Pour boiling water to cover the silver. Add 1/4 cup baking soda and 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt. (I used pink Hawaiian salt and it worked fine.) Toss in your silver for five minutes. Wipe clean with a cloth. 

Dan was out of town, but another of the young men's leaders came. One of my grandparent couples didn't come, but we had fun getting to know the one's who did. The conversation was a little trickier than it was in our group last year, so I was glad we had written questions for the kids to ask!

We met at the bishop's home for dessert. (We try to have all the host families near each other and near to the final home for dessert.) Gathering afterward is fun for everyone. The bishop basically had to kick us out because everyone was enjoying being together.

I did take a photo of the untouched salads at the kids' places. 😂