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So, the Air Force, being part of the United States Government, doesn't call its Christmas party by that name. It's a Holiday party. Never mind that there's a Christmas tree (no angel on top) and Santa Claus is going down a chimney on the front cover of the program. They do have a chaplain who prays to God before the meal, and he doesn't mention Jesus.

Anyway, we went to the party Bryan's squadron threw last night. We sat with a couple I didn't know, as well as a couple of married guys whose wives were not in attendance. I do know those guys and like them. They helped us move from our townhouse on base to this house in one day.

I also knew another couple and chatted with the wife for a bit. She's really nice and coincidentally (or not) was the childcare provider we placed Caleb with when we first got here while we moved into our townhouse. (Later I found out her husband works with Bryan.)

Anyway, the party was nice. They had a "scavenger hunt" which is a combination of a scavenger hunt and musical chairs. Fourteen people from various tables sit in fourteen chairs and as items are read off a "Twas the Night Before Christmas" style poem, they run around like mad trying to collect the item from somebody else in the room and run back to claim a remaining chair. The chairs are taken away one by one until there is a winner. The prize this time was a bottle of wine.

There had been some voting during the past few weeks at work for who should dress up as Santa and the Elf (but its' a "Holiday" party) and the winners (or losers, really) then held a drawing for a variety of prizes, ranging from a manicure set to a 32" TV with dvd and vcr. There was also a raffle for an XBOX 360 for which Bryan had purchased a few tickets. (Not to own an XBOX, but to Ebay it for profit so he can buy a new guitar.) Nevertheless, we didn't win any of the prizes.

The booster club provided childcare for $10 per child. This was a great deal considering we were there for over three hours. Since Micah doesn't take bottles, I went to check on him once an hour or so. He did really well and was only barely crying the last time I went in there. I think it was more from being tired than hungry, because I'd fed him something of a snack when we first got there. He was the second-youngest baby there, another of Bryan's coworkers had a baby three months ago one month premature. She was a tiny doll-like baby... very cute.

So, all in all the CHRISTMAS PARTY was a nice outing for the three of us and a good way to spend the last full day home.