Text and photos by Dave Pratt

Well, we did it again! Pulled off another one of our warm and fun annual AONE Holiday Parties at the Josiah Smith Tavern in Weston, MA, on Saturday, December 17th.

Mother Nature threatened to make this one a little dicey, having dumped around five inches of snow in our area the very morning of our soiree. But rising temps and a change to rain (and eventually no precipitation at all) made travel easier than it could have been, and no one canceled due to the weather! The Town of Weston, though, completely ignored plowing out the Tavern. President Tom Lesko had to shovel out in front of the door, in order for the caterers (and us) to get in, and later Dan Donovan was spotted shoveling out the mouth of the driveway. (Wish I'd gotten a photo of that!) Only as we were leaving, over four hours later, did the town plow come through!

But all was well once the three dozen of us were inside, where we were welcomed by the friendly and capable Tastings Caterers wait staff, who wandered among us offering their delectable hors d'oeuvres. The various beverages we'd brought were uncorked and uncapped, and we proceeded to enjoy the food, drink and each other's company. Besides the delights delivered to us on trays, there was a table set up with even more offerings in the appetizer department.

Tom Lesko had also prepared a free-running slide presentation displaying photos from all of our AONE events of the past year, accompanied by some holiday background music. (In one of the slides from the Cape Crusade, Tom fittingly displayed my Lesser Car upside down.)

When the main course was announced as ready for us to partake, we all grabbed plates and descended on the buffet. Our caterer again provided us with their excellent cuisine and didn't disappoint! We were all seated around five large tables, and it was easy to tell by watching and listening what a great time everyone was having.

As promised, Tom did not wear his Alfa party shirt, and no one had to participate in our sing-along of corrupted Alfa-centric Xmas tunes that we've forced on you in previous years. In fact, only one person even mentioned it (Hi, Angela!), so it was surely not missed.

Just as Gene Durso sat down with his dessert, a candle got stuck in it, became ignited, and the crowd belted out an impromptu 'Happy Birthday' in his honor. What better way to cap a birthday than at the AONE Holiday Party! (And at least we got to do a little singing.)

Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for arrived — the start of the Yankee gift swap! It's always a ton of fun, and this year's was no exception. Interestingly, last year there were seven bottles of Limoncello, but this year there was none! Still, a lot of nice bottles of wine (and other fluids) traded hands, as well as many other neat gifts. If you look through the photos, you'll get an idea of the variety of interesting items that found new homes.

Our thanks go once again to Tom Lesko for making all the arrangements for our always eagerly-anticipated annual Holiday Party. Great food, venue, people ... and hence a great event!

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