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It was a little touch-and-go, but we managed to pull off another one of our fine, fun AONE Holiday Parties at the Josiah Smith Tavern in Weston, MA, on Saturday, December 9th. Mother Nature was in an uncooperative mood, dumping on us the season's first significant snowstorm, which fell throughout the entire day of our gathering, leaving the area with about 6" of the stuff and making for some challenging driving conditions coming and going. Unfazed, however, we had not a single cancellation due to the weather! And that included people coming from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and even Steve Bellantone down from Maine! (I suppose they're more used to it up there.) Around forty of us drifted inside the Tavern, where Tastings Caterers had everything waiting for us. In addition to a "stationary table" loaded with appetizers, the capable wait staff wandered among us offering their delectable hors d'oeuvres. We'd brought along our various beverages, which we uncorked and uncapped, and proceeded to enjoy the food, drink and each other's company. As a backdrop, Tom Lesko had prepared a free-running slide presentation displaying photos from all of our AONE events of the past year, accompanied by some holiday background music. We were happy to have back in our midst two couples who'd been with us in the past but had gone Alfaless in recent years. Steve & Ellen Silverstein recently acquired the very same Duetto that Steve had ogled out the window of the school bus that took him to junior high back in Tennessee! Bruce & Jane Murray once had 164s and are now seriously considering a new Giulia (if we can just convince Jane about the merits of the paddle-shift transmission). In due course, the main buffet was announced as ready for us, so we all queued up, grabbed plates, and eagerly partook. Tastings once again provided us with their excellent cuisine and didn't disappoint! We were all seated around five large tables, and, judging from the decibel level of the boisterous chatter, it was easy to tell what a great time everyone was having. As people were finishing off their delectable desserts, it was time to get down to "business". The crowd groaned as I went around the room handing out copies of the Official AONE Holiday Songbook, because it meant that they'd be coerced into the sing-along of corrupted Alfa-centric Xmas tunes that I've foisted on them in previous years. We made it through a few songs before tossing the booklets aside and moving on to better things. Namely, the start of the Yankee gift swap! It's always a ton of fun, and this year's was no exception. Our suggestion that we limit the number of bottles of wine and Limoncello seemed to have had a positive effect, as we had a wide assortment of fun and interesting gifts get opened (and swapped)! If you look through the photos, you'll get an idea of the variety of interesting items that found new homes. (By the way, I think you'll agree that Adrien Sipos, who took almost all of the photos during the evening, does a most outstanding job — she really caught the party's spirit!) Our thanks go once again to Tom Lesko for making all of the arrangements for our popular annual holiday bash! (Well, he did sort of screw up the weather.) 'Twas a really outstanding event ...
2017 Holiday Party Revelers |
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(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view, and then
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Prologue Early Mingling Dinnertime Yuletide Singalong Yankee Swap Epilogue |
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See the original event announcement
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