Some Holiday Love

Last weekend, our group of friends got together at our friends place for an Ugly Sweater Party with White Elephant Gift Exchange. While I had plenty of time before the party to secure an Ugly Sweater, I of course lost track of time and found myself the day before the party sweater less. Now there is a store in Hermosa Beach that sells Ugly Sweaters, but I could not bring myself to pay this woman $30 for a sweater she bought from Goodwill for $5 at most. (Apparently she has a deal where they call her whenever they get one in). My other option was to hit the nearby JC Penny since I had heard they had sweaters for $7 but in fear of them being sold out, I let my indecisiveness stop me. It was now the night of the party and I was stuck deciding between two options: 1. Be relatively cute in a red sweater or sequins Rudolph tee from J.Crew, or 2. Breaking out my Nick and Nora Flannel Christmas PJs from Target that Dan and I had purchased for our first Christmas Card together.

Because Dan didn't want to rock his PJs alone, I changed quickly into my PJs and we were out the door. My PJ set has sock monkeys rocking Santa hats, sliding down candy cane poles and Dan's has snowmen skiing on candy cane skis. Grabbing my Ralphie teddy bear that has his own ugly sweater and Santa hat and throwing my hair in pigtails, we were out the door for some fun festivities.

I will say if you are comfortable enough to rock pajamas for a party, they are a perfect other option for an Ugly Sweater party and much easier to find in my mind. Also, they are way comfortable! I will do my best to find an ugly sweater after Christmas this year though, because as Ugly Sweater Parties become more popular, it couldn't hurt to have one, just not one that costs more than $20.

We also had a great time with the White Elephant Exchange. We set a limit of no more than $20/gift and I have to say some gifts were very creative. Dan and I brought a Jack Daniels gift set and this really cool nut dish in the shape of a beer bottle. Dan first started out with Harry Potter Scene It only to end up with a Terrordactyl (it was spelled this way too), that screams ever time you touch it. It's horribly hilarious - but I may have to pull a mom move from Christmas Story and accidentally break that thing just like she did the lamp. I tried once already at the party, but that stupid thing lives on.

For me, I started out with a box of random junk from our friend Nate, included a camo hat from his company, a jean vest made from a jean jacket, a bag of decorative beads, and a place mat. For some strange reason, our friend Brian wanted the hat, so he took my box and I ended up with a gift card to Peets Coffee. Best trade ever in my mind.

I hope we make this an annual tradition because the party was a great time and tonight we are following up with a Girls' Night In at Heather's to watch Love Actually. To celebrate Britain, I am bringing scones (and chocolate chip brownies because they are just awesome).

How are you celebrating this holiday season?