The Christmas Coffee House - 1

Last night was the Christmas Coffee House - #1. #2 will be held on Dec. 26th at Susie's house - the traditional location - for those unable to attend tonight. Only a relative few could be there tonight - Susie and Dennis, Becky and the entire Costello family, Rachael and Brendan and the four children: Ronan, Maura, Marve and Declan (besides Maggie and Jerry who were hosting and Ellen and myself). Peter and Lori were supposed to be there but were sick and Dan was in Minneapolis with a friend at the Chicago Bears/Minnesota Vikings game (sadly, the Bears were slaughtered 38-17).

The Coffee House is like a cabaret. Those who wish to, sign up to provide an "act" of some kind: a song, a reading, a skit, etc. There are annual mandatory components like The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, the singing of which always starts things off, and a MadLibs story, which Susie usually writes, and everyone else contributes words. Both of these are inevitably hilarious. 

This time I read a bit of the chapter titled Dulce Domum from Kenneth Graeham's Wind in the Willows (in which Mole returns unexpectedly to his humble but beloved home with Rat, and they are caroled by the field mice), and we sang a setting of the carol the field mice sing, Villagers All, by our friend, Andy Davis. 

Maggie and Jerry artfully acted a skit titled Dining Out, in which Jerry played the waiter who fastidiously set the table for the fashionably dressed patron, played by Maggie. The punch line is: Patron: (screams) "What is this fly doing in my soup?" Waiter: (peering into the bowl) "I believe he's doing the back stroke!).

Maura eventually overcame her shyness and played Silent Night and Jingle Bells on the piano, Ellen played along on the tenor recorder, and we all sang. We ended with a hearty rendering of the Hanover Winter Song with Maggie accompanying at the piano. 

And of course there was a great deal of food: cheeses and crackers and cookies and nuts and dips and chips and tenders and spring rolls - what a spread! And as always a great deal of laughter. A lovely evening.

Singing the Twelve Dogs of Christmas  Each group stood when it came to their verse!

 

              The Spread, with Becky  (and a bit of Maggie).

Ellen with Maura and Maeve (and a construction the girls made with Bristle Blocks,

 representing a family sitting around the table for Christmas dinner).

       "Formal" portrait:  L.to r., front row: Maggie and Jerry

        Second row:  Maura, Dennis, Maeve, Ellen and Larry

        Back row: Rachael, Ronan Declan, Brendan, Becky, Susie