Fargo Favorites # 11

1. Annual Ornament Exchange

No matter where I go after my time here in Fargo, one of my favorite memories of my Christmases and friends here will always be my annual Ornament Exchange. In 2001, Lana (my Mother-in-law) started one for Brett's seven sisters and me. We would have a little get-together, eat and exchange Ornaments sometime after Thanksgiving. It was so much fun! Well, then I moved here in 2005. I could still participate long distance but I didn't want to be left out of the party part so I started one myself. Little did I know that it would change and grow and continue over 6 years. Such great ladies, way too much fun and so many amazing ornaments. I LOVE it! Here's a little walk down memory lane.

Amazing ladies-

The Ornaments-

2. Quotes

With the age of little shops, big stores, vinyl lettering, google, etc- quotes are accessible like never before. There are so many good ones out there. Some make you laugh, some make you cry and some inspire you to do what you already know you should. I found this little sign here in Fargo and I hung it in my kitchen. "Enjoy What You Do"! Isn't that so true? It really doesn't matter what we do- but if we're gonna do
it- we better enjoy it! It's a good reminder for me on those
less-than-appreciated Momma days!

3. Snow Glitter
I love it during the days when the sun hits the snow just right and makes it glitter. So beautiful!

4. Tree Flocking
Every once in a while, we will go to bed under a blanket of what seems like Winter fog. Overnight this "Winter Fog" puts a magical spell over the land. When we wake up, it has turn all of Fargo into a Winter Wonderland. Every tree is beautifully flocked with the most sparkly & white snow crystals you've ever seen. It amazes me everytime it happens. Absolutely gorgeous! {It only lasts until the sun melts it away- so you gotta enjoy it while it lasts!}

5. Hot Chocolate Partays

Well, that is quite enough SNOW talk for one day! Here in Fargo, we have lots of chances to enjoy and play in the snow. But this is the kind of white stuff & cold temps that deserves a Hot Chocolate Partay everytime! After being out, we like to pull out the BIG hot cocoa mugs and enjoy a bit of warmth and a lot of whoop cream! Yeah!

So.... What are you grateful for TODAY?

Ornament Exchange: A Story to Tell

There's always a story to be told when you put so much time & effort into a project. That's why there is a rule that at the Ornament Exchange you have to come prepared to tell the "Story Behind the Ornament". Normally, I have them all write to me their stories but I am going to try & do my best to retell the stories. Hopefully, I have enough thawed brain cells to remember them all. Here's the Tales from this year:

Emily Massey: This was Emily's 1st year with us. She moved here from Texas recently so she's missing the warmth and beach. She had a friend once who made these as thank-you gifts for a wedding and decided to try them. They are filled with sand & seashells and remind her of home. So gorgeous!

Haylie Ironroad: Haylie said $30 dollars later and 3 crappy Ornament attempts she gave into her Hubby's request and went Indian. She used supplies she had from last year and did Dream Catchers out of micro beads on blue bulbs. So fancy! Great job! Sweet dreams to me!

McKenzie Larsen: McKenzie is a new-comer and a Partay lifesaver. (Thanks for your help with the craft, lady!) She found this ornament idea online [my kinda girl-lol]. She had to order the bells because Fargo is such a mecca of crafts. HaHa! They turned out so darling. To make them even more meaningful- in the Larsen home whenever the girls ask if there really is a Santa, Mom says "Well can you still hear the bells?" (from Polar Express). As long as they hear the bells- I guess there IS a Santa! ;)

Sheleray Seamons- So, as most know- I am addicted to fabric. This year, I wanted to make something quilted so I went googling. Fancy that but I found a Quilted Ornament Ball Pattern. Awesome! I decided to make it really meaningful & only allow myself to buy the Styrofoam balls and the 4000+ pins. Everything else would have to come from my Basement Craft Room. (Don't dog the Craft room, people!) Well, it took a lot of restraint but I made 24 of them. [12 for the Partay, 4 for my kids, 8 for my In-laws even though they were whimpy about doing an Exchange this year. LOL] They are all different but turned out very fun. Yeah for being a pack-rat!

Candyland Momento by Liberty- I usually try to make a "Thank you for coming" Ornament just for fun! Well, I had some clear bulbs that my Mother-in-law & sisters-in-law had made Brett & I for a Bridal Shower so that we would have something to put onto our tree. They were all the same but now after 9 or more years of Ornament Exchanges they have served their purpose and deserve to be passed on. Liberty helped me by sticking on Peppermint Stickers, a little bow and ribbon. They are TOTALLY Candyland-ish!
Kristen Brotherson (aka KBro)- Procrastination at it's finest! LOL! Actually, she already had an Ornament done but didn't like it so thanks to her Errand-running friend KTuck, she got new supplies this afternoon and whoala! Perfect! She did a classy black & silver theme which goes so appropriately with the Fargo 2010 on the side! [Cuz Fargo is about as classy as ya' all get) LOL! It has a little tag on it that says: "Many are called but Few are Frozen!" Too funny! She hopes that no matter where we go over the years (or before the kids break it), that we will be able to look at it and remember our time together here in Fargo!
Heidi Potter- The Potters moved here over the Summer. Heidi said that she loves the Childhood memories of Christmas. They decided that once they had kids they would take a family picture every year at Christmas so that they coukld frame them. Well, after like 14 years of marriage, they have one. Oops! Time flies when you're having fun! So she decided that she would make a Picture frame for each of us. She put in a cute little saying of "The Joy of Christmas- Celebrate the Season" but she said- Take it out! Put a picture of you r family in there to remember Christmas 2010! Ahhhhh! So sweet!
Allison Cudney- Allison is known for being an awesome Mother. Her kids are her world! Every year she involves them in the Ornament making process. She said some have quite a bit of snow because Alex was having way too much fun! We teased that we can just pretend that you got a snow drift in yours. ;) Also, they hung a little Christmas light inside because she likes lights and they remind her of her Mom. Too cute!
Jennifer Mausolf- Jen is very Victorian/Vintage in her style. She had several ideas but kept walking past this Vintage Postage Stamp fabric at Joann's that was calling her name! She backed them with felt & decked them out with ribbon (She likes ribbon!;). They turned out darling! So Jennifer! Also, she said one of her favorite ornaments growing up was a little felt-backed deer that her Daddy gave her. She loves her Dad & Deer! Merry Christmas Bambi!
Lauren Wolf- Lauren had grand plans of what to make this year. Possibilities of plaid ones(her favorite color), or ones with micro beads in snowflakes shapes, or maybe a little simpler shape. All of which she said just didn't cooperate. So, she bought hers but these ARE what were in her HEAD. LOL! They turned our beautiful, lady!
KTuck- Kristen is an amazingly Crafty person and has the fun-est tools ever! Recently she got a button-maker. Anyone who knows her can attest that she says LOTS of paper. She said between paper and a button maker, she just couldn't resist! Flat back button Ornaments! Perfect reminder of our Kristen Krafts supplier. ;) I was so happy because Lauren saved me the Poinsetta one. That's my favorite flower!
Brooke- Brooke was making something out of felt. It needed to be pre-shruck so she went to work. It went from this <--------------------BIG-----------------------> to this <-big->. Oops! She got more of it & then the life of a Pregnant Mommy took over. Dang so, Plan B. She made us all 6 little magnets for our fridge. Well, unless your tree is magnetic. LOL! They are so awesome! I LOVE magnets!
Bonny- Bonny likes to try and make something that will remind us of the real meaning of Christmas. She puts us all to shame! ;) This year, she was thinking of the different names of the Savior- Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace. It reminded her of a dove. She made these wonderful felt doves with a branch in it's mouth and a red ribbon. I love it!! Truly why we Celebrate!!!

Until we Meet Again-

Happy Ornament Exchange Everyone!

Winter CANDYland Ornament Exchange

This is my 6th Annual Fargo Ornament Exchange. I LOVE it! It has been fun to watch it change and grow over the years. In the past six years, we've had regulars and one-timers and those who have left us--- we miss you dearly, ladies! Wish you were here! ;) Anytime you want to fly back for it- let me know. I'll save you a place! LOL!

This year, I decided on a Winter Candyland Theme. As anyone who knows me can verify- give me a theme and I can go crazy! LOL! No exception tonight, ladies!!! Everywhere I turned I found candy canes, peppermints, treats, etc. I love that it all comes together like magic. ;)

Yummy Soup & Bread:

Jennifer made the most fabulous Wild Rice Soup for us. YUMMMY! And KTuck brought the most delicious bread so the meal was perfect. Thanks ladies! Even without a water pitcher & bowls! I guess ya kinda need bowls for soup. Ooops! ;) Sorry about that, Jennifer. I guess 6 loads to the car froze some brain cells of mine! LOL!

Games & Prizes:

I love games with prizes! Yeah! We played a Guess How Many Peppermints Game. There were 269 candies stuffed in there! Emily guessed 250. Way to go! Heidi came in 2nd place with 235. Of course, they both got to pick a prize. (All the Prizes were candy-themed, of course. Candycane paper pad with peppermint striped pen, Gingerbread  Coasters with hot cocoa & candycanes, Candy magnets, Box of Candycane Hershey kisses, a tin of peppermints and candy shaped soap. So fun!)

We also played a Do you know the Candyland Game? Let's just say- ALL of these ladies need to sit down and play this game or at least read the story. Mercy me!!! McKenzie won this one with 3 out of 14. Pretty sad, ladies... pretty sad! And some of their guesses {Purple Candy dude, Fishy-fishy Gumdrop, Little Pudgy Lady, Shloompy Doompy, Chocolate Mud Man, Mr. Taffy- just to name a few} were hilarious! Gotta love these ladies! The other prizes were for drawing special Candyland Characters. Congrats to all the Winners!

Candyland Game for YOU: If you want to see how well you would have done- here's a quiz for you! (Some are the same characters just changed over the years, some have replaced others and some new friends have been created) Good Luck!!!

Candy Jar Craft:
What Ornament Exchange would be complete without a Craft? Sticking to our Candyland theme and thanks to KBro & her new addiction to YHL, we decided to etch glass candy jars. Magically, I found [at the Thrift store] 12 glass jars that would work perfectly. I LOVE a good deal! They were so cute in my head and I have to say they turned out just as cute in person. So fun! A bit crazy to try a brand new craft for the first time with 12 ladies at a Partay but what better people to experiment with? Hurray for etching glass! We are like experts now! We got BIG plans for the future. Watch out world- etched glass casserole dishes with our names on them are coming next!

Close-ups of Candy Jars: Too stinkin' cute!!!!

Ornament Exchanging:

For the Exchanging of the Ornaments, it is tradition that you should always get to pick at least one of the Ornaments 1st. It's only fair- and I'm known to have fairness issues, ya' know! So... each lady picked a Candyland game card that corresponded with a Character written on one of their display name tags. If they had the matching card- they picked that Ornament first. Once you picked the one you want then you pass them to the left ....or right or.... both- whatever works I guess, right? LOL!

Also a tradition... You have to have a bag to take all your ornaments home in. This year, I found....... drumroll please...... candy-striped gift bags with fluff on the top. The ladies teased that they looked a bit like lingerie bags. Well, I aim to please everyone- even the Hubbies at home! LOL! A tradition that I broke this year was taking a picture of all the Ornaments on display. I didn't realize it until we had already given out half of them. DANG! They were all so beautiful though! Guess you'll just have to take my word for it! Awesome jobs ladies- your Ornaments were perfect. (I'll have to do a separate post of "the Story Behind the Ornament". (We just had way too much fun for one post, I guess!)

Winter CANDYland:

So, we kept the dinner simple this year and asked everyone to bring CANDY instead. It could be home-made, a Holiday treat, your favorite candy- sky's the limit. Holy Moly! We are candy freaks! There were sooo many YUMMMMMY candies to share. The rules were 1.You had to fill up your jar and 2. you had to fill at least one plate as well. The jars were even cute-R filled! What a great night!

Some had to go home to get some sleep and others had kiddos to get to bed but a group of us stayed really late and just visited. It's been a long time since we've done that- (I guess we're all getting old or whimpy- one or the other) and I've missed it! I always try hard not to take for granted what extraordinary friends I have here. They are amazing! Luv ya ladies!

The Partay Girls:

Thanks to all my dear friends that joined in the fun this year! Jen M., Brooke, KBro, Heidi, Lauren, Haylie, (Me;), Emily, Allison, McKenzie, KTuck and Bonny! I luv ya all! You are awesome ladies! Happy Tree decorating! 364 days till next time- so start preparing. LOL! See ya next year!