Squadron Christmas Party -- It's Fun to Play Dress Up

It had been a very long time since Dave and I were able to dress up and go out without the kids.  A couple years, I guess.  Don't get me wrong, we go out occasionally, like to dinner or a movie, but of course we don't always dress up for those.

Last night we went to Dave's squadron's Christmas party and it was a very nice time.  Those who planned the party did a wonderful job.  Everyone seemed to leave having had a great time!

For the past couple tours, our holiday parties have been family events.  That's fine.  Last year's party here was family-friendly, and this year the squadron opted for a more formal event at a local golf club restaurant, complete with a cash bar, prime rib and grilled mahi!

I won't post ALL the pictures (remember, there was a cash bar), but here are a few.  The pictures aren't in the right order because we combined pictures from two cameras and the times are off between the two.

There was a scavenger hunt.  If there was a coupon taped to the bottom of your chair, you participated.  I think they were sorry I was part of it once I clawed at a couple folks to get Dave's Christmas tie.

There was a donation/voting contest where the "winners" dressed in costume and sang a holiday song.  Even though he didn't have to, one of our "winners" opted to remain in costume all evening.

Our MC, Todd VonAlmen.  He did an outstanding job.  Here he's reading the story for the gift exchange.  Every time the participants heard key words, they had to pass the gifts, left, right, forward, etc.  By the end, the folks only wanted the key words, we didn't really care about the story itself.

The scavenger hunt finalists.

Don is trying to pay off Glen to get out of wearing a costume.  There were 5 minutes to pay out before the "winners" were announced.

Dave and Todd are giving the final remarks and are about to give away the big raffle prizes.

I tried to get a couple nice pictures of the whole room.  This was tough -- I think our camera is done.