Over twenty years ago my friend Barb gave a sit-down Christmas dinner for twenty people. She had two sets of beautiful plates, each one of which portrayed one of the twelve days of Christmas, which she used to set the table. We admired them as we sat down at our places, until she said we would be singing the carol Twelve Days of Christmas and each of us would have to sing the part our plate showed. Perhaps because she also taught us the Scandinavian custom of skolling (she is Swedish), we were well lubricated by the time we had to sing and undertook the task with spirit. It was hilarious. It was hard to recognize the song as we sang it the first time, so we had to do it again. Everyone enjoyed the evening so much that it became an annual event. Barb hosted it for almost ten years and when she finally decided she had had enough, Becky took it over and continues the tradition every year. Twenty to twenty four people gather for a most extensive and delicious potluck dinner and once it is eaten, we sing our plates. Then we swap plates and sing again. I'm sorry to say that there has been little improvement in quality over the years, but the hilarity is always fresh. It is one of the anchors of our Christmas season.
In the first transitional year after Barb bowed out, I tried to give the plate party. We lived in a somewhat distant suburb, while most of our friends lived in the city, but they all agreed to come. We cleaned our house, emptied our family room of furniture and brought in tables, and rented glassware and linens. Barb generously lent me her treasured plates and I set the table with high hopes of carrying on. When we awoke on the morning on the party, it was snowing. Snow here in Western Washington is usually fleeting, and the radio said it was just in the foothills, so we continued our preparations. I went out at lunchtime for some candles, noting that there was less than an inch on the ground, but I found that it was incredibly slippery to drive in. Making my way home I saw many cars in the ditch, and watched one woman try to get out of her car. Every time she set foot on the ground it slipped out from under her. When I got home I cancelled the party and it turned out well that I did. The snow got worse and worse, spread across the entire area and proved to be almost impossible to move through. I decided that hosting the plate party at that time of year at our house wasn't a good idea, and that's when Becky stepped up to keep the song alive. Every year we keep our fingers crossed about the weather and warm up our voices so that we can maintain our high choral standards.
If you are giving a party of at least twelve people it would be easy to do this even without the plates. The part assignments could be done with placecards... or hidden in napkins. I guarantee Christmas cheer.