Thursday, January 15, 2009

Christmas Enrichment

I have to apologize because I haven't posted in so long. This is extremely out of date but just too good not to blog about. During November we started planning what we wanted to do for Christmas Enrichment. It is tradition in our ward to always serve dinner. I wanted to do something extra special for the sisters in our ward. Here is the rundown.

We decided on the theme of service. I don't know where I got this quote (in fact I don't know if it is even a quote) it just popped into my head as we were planning. It was the theme of our whole night.

Service is the Spirit of the Season

Here is a picture of the invitation. I got the idea from a scrapbook magazine. They turned out so cute. I was so glad. My friend Melanie wrote the wording. If you click on the picture you can see what the invite says. Super cute! I am so lucky to have such a creative friend that just LOVES to help me!


The sisters on my committee and others that could make it agreed to decorate again for me. They did such a great job last time so I was really excited to see what they came up with. I walked in the room and was completely in awe. It was even better than I had pictured it. It was beautiful.


The tables are set and we are ready to PARTY!


Centerpieces- Simple but elegant!


Decorations throughout the cultural hall

The sisters were supposed to arrive at the church at 6:15 to receive instructions for our service project. We had two different service projects to choose from. They could tie baby quilts for Deseret Industries or put together Humanitarian kits for the Humanitarian Center.

While the sisters were doing service Tommy and his crew were preparing our dinner. Here are a few pictures of his helpers.


Many hands make light work!


Tommy's cute apron the Johnson's gave him for this
special night (left) and Brother Johnson, so willing and happy to help (right).


Landon- Happy to help! Ben- The Assistant Griller!
I was worried that most sisters would skip the service project and just come for dinner, and my ward is incredibly famous for showing up LATE! That is where a little creative bribery comes into play. I used some of my budget money along with donated items and put together a pretty incredible on-time drawing. It is a great idea if you want to get people to your activity on time. The prizes were; some rolls of scotch tape for wrapping gifts, HUGE rolls of wrapping paper from Costco, two tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert at the Conference Center, two mini Christus statues, and a homemade Christmas wreath.


After the service project the sisters made their way to the cultural hall where they ate a delicious spinach salad then waited for the main course. The sisters had a choice between Teriyaki Chicken, Teriyaki Salmon, or Blackened Salmon for their main course. It was served on a bed of orzo pasta. It's all about the presentation.


Mandy- Making the salads. YUMMY!
The Finished Product!
We invited some men to come and help serve the sisters. Here are some pictures of them. We couldn't have done it without them. They did a fantastic job!
My new Brother-in-law offered to help! (left)
Laura came and helped too we just didn't get her
picture because she was taking the pictures for me. Thanks Lu!
Danny Johnson- Our lifesaver (right)

Danny's girlfriend played beautiful Christmas
music while we ate. It was a nice finishing touch!

After dinner dessert was served and we were ready to start our activity.
DELICIOUS!
For our activity we did a white elephant service gift exchange. Basically it is the same thing as a white elephant exchange except instead of giving a present the sisters had to give a service they would provide to another sister during the month of December. Each sister had a card on their table that they wrote their service on, then they put it in the small gift bag on their table.

All of the gift bags were brought to the front and then each sister was given a number. They came up and picked a bag and read the service and who it was from. It got interesting when people began to steal services from others. Some of the services that got stolen were free piano lessons for a month, a Christmas Wreath, crocheted washcloths, free rock climbing lesson, a first aid kit for your car, etc. I have to tell you that the sisters in my ward really came through. They thought of some great services.

To close the night we talked about the importance of service to each other and the unity we would feel in our Relief Society if we would each sincerely do our service. We gave each sister a gorgeous homemade ornament. It had a little tag with our theme to remind the sisters the importance of service during the Christmas season and throughout the year.



This evening was a huge success. Tommy and I, my committee and many ward members helped to pull it off. Thank you to everyone that helped. I couldn't have done it without you. Now I have to start planning the Relief Society Birthday Party in March. I already have some great ideas! I just love this calling!

19 comments:

Kendal and Alissa said...

Holly can old ward members come back to your Enrichment activities?! They all look so awesome! Way to fulfill your calling.

Lindz said...

Wow!! What a fabulous night...I wish I was in your ward!! =) And you look great...I love your hair lighter like that!! I think it was darker last time I saw you!

mj said...

wow...i want to be in your ward too! you are doing an awesome job! how do you do it all?

Don and Amy Bennion said...

Sounds and looks like you are THE person for this calling. What an incredible night. Maybe we'll be back for next years?!

Amy

Kensie said...

Oh my goodness, that looks so great. You did such an amazing job Holly, no wonder you got put in charge of enrichment!!
I know lets go to dinner soon. Aaron leaves out of town tomorrow until Saturday night so...maybe sometime after that?

Erin M said...

That activity really was amazing. I loved every minute of it. You have so much creativity and hard work that you put into these activities. You're awesome!

Pays said...

Looks fabulous Holly! Way to go! I'm getting hungry just looking at all that delicious food. Hopefully you have recovered in time for the next activity.

Melanie said...

glad i could see the photos! i've been waiting patiently! my favorite is seeing all the guys helping.
your hubby is such a sweetheart!
your ward is blessed to have you and your talents!
what a great night!

Pays said...

Holly, I forgot to tell you. That you and Tiff should start a facebook account, so I can chat with you girls. As if you aren't busy enough I know. I think you would like it. It's a great way to keep in touch with friends.

Shanna said...

oh my gosh Holly! I wish I would have been there. It looks like a freaking wedding! Seriously the food the tables the decorations. you have found a new hobby.. Seriously start your own business and I will be the photographer!! Love you!!!!

Jedda said...

girl, they have you in the perfect calling! You have such fantastic ideas! I'm glad it went so well-wish I could come!

HayLee said...

Wow, everything looked and sounded incredible. I miss that ward! You did a fantastic job with everything. I miss you guys like crazy. You and the Palmers need to plan a trip up. Any time is good and we would love to have you.

Suzanne said...

Loved the activity! I really thought it was a Blast and it made me feel very welcome in Relief Society.

Carrie said...

I wish I could have made this enrichment. It sure looks like it was great as was the last. You are so creative.

The Workman's said...

Holly you are fast becoming my go-to blogger for enrichment ideas! You are so talented and creative!
We need to hang out. Lets get together. Isaac is dying to see you guys. call us!

AmyJane said...

Holy cow, woman! You go ALL OUT!
I love it--my ward is like anti-supportive of things like thing...I miss Utah sometimes.

Mandy said...

Holly, I am so glad it turned out so well! You put in so much work! I'm glad the sisters in your ward came through. I bet the b-day celebration will be awesome too! Tommy- the food looked awesome!

Kristy said...

Man reading your post makes me so homesick. It looks so A-mazing! You did such an awesome job and it really is such an awesome calling for you. Thanks for posting so many pics. It's fun to see everyone. Oh and could you tell Suzanne and Nate to send me an invite to their blog please. Haha sorry you're always the inbetween person. You're just so popular!:) kristyrcook@gmail.com Oh and one more thing, totally tell Mandy Davies to start a blog already!:)

greg & allyson said...

you throw the best activities. i'm coming to whatever you do next.