3rd Annual Trinh Family Yankee Swap

On the Saturday before Christmas, we threw the 3rd Annual Trinh Family Yankee Swap/Pot Luck Party. Every year it seems to get louder and rowdier which adds to our party's charm. About 50 people came which is actually a down year in terms of attendance. But like previous years, it was still a fun time.

As alluded to earlier, our party is unique in a number of ways. Here are some of them:

The Crowd Is Fickle

Very fickle. Just about anything negative will get you booed. Party foul? Boo. Crappy gift? Boo! Camp Rock DVD? Boo!!! The host magically draws #1. BOOOO!!! (Actually that was last year.)

The first year we held the event, since it was a potluck we ended up with about 20 desserts and no entrees. Every year since, we explicitly asked that people NOT bring desserts. Several people mistakenly showed up with a dessert and were soundly booed for it.

Previous Transgressions Will Be Revisited

If you do something to be teased one year, you probably will be reminded of it again the following year. Repeatedly. Ad nauseam. For example, one of our friends brought the most delicious-looking cupcakes one year and we were so eager to try them. A few of us each grabbed one and took a bite. The cupcakes crumbled like dirt in our mouths and we rushed to spit out the rest. So if you ever hear the words "dirt cake", you'll know what we mean.

Participants Routinely Bend Break Rules

The spending limit on gifts is set at $25. However, some participants purposely spend WAY over that amount to ensure that they bought the "best" gifts. There are definitely some bragging rights to bringing a gift that everyone wants to swap for.

What You See Isn't Always What You Get

Last year had the funniest unintentional moment in Yankee Swap history. On her turn, a girl picked a gift and began to unwrap it. She was thrilled to find a ceramic heater! She railed about looking forward to using it because her house was cold. Toward the end of the night, she opened the box to look at her new heater and was surprised by what she saw. Instead of a new ceramic heater, she found a liquor bottle instead. Someone quipped, "At least that will also keep you warm."

After last year's accidental bait-and-switch, it was funny seeing how many people attempted to purposefully attempt to do the same this year. To make things interesting, no one opened their gifts completely until everyone had a gift in their hands. During the Yankee Swap, many "real" gifts were traded away because people thought they were fake.

After the Yankee Swap, a group of people played Dance Central (and Kinect Adventures) with the Kinect, the new controller-less peripheral for the Xbox 360. It was so much fun seeing the guys get up and dance to girly songs like "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. It was also great seeing Tary's cousins open up a bit and have fun along with our friends.

All in all, I think it was a successful party. It seemed like the people who came all had fun. Though I'm not sure if we'll do this again next year. It was a lot of work for us this year with all of the planning, buying food, cooking the food, cleaning up the house before and after the party, and trying to watch Daniel. Interest may also be waning so we'll see how we feel at this time next year.

If we end up hosting a party next year, here are some lessons learned from this year:

1. We bought food and supplies a few hours before the party and cooked everything just before guests arrived and that proved to be way too hectic for us. We need to be more organized and plan our meals and buy supplies well in advance.
2. This year we held our party the Saturday before Christmas. People are busiest the closer it gets to Christmas and they may still have last-minute shopping to do or other events to go to. That may explain our lower turnout. We need to host the party on an earlier date, perhaps the 2nd Saturday in December.
3. We love the people who look forward to our events and always come and have fun. However, there are some people (mostly Tary's old "friends") who never come no matter how many times we invite them. Instead of trying to invite everyone, we should be happy that the people who do come care about us and actually want to be there.
4. These events are hard on Daniel. All of the noise interferes with his schedule and it messes things up for him and for us the next day. We need to start the party earlier and/or get a babysitter.