Grand Theft Ornament

Thank goodness that none of the participants last night was actually a police officer. Otherwise,for certain, we would all be in the slammer now on charges of theft.

I will warn you that the photos below incriminate many and are not of my best quality. I was just laughing too darn hard.

I didn’t take a picture of the food either. Even with a wide angle lens there might have been difficulty getting all of it in one frame. Every year I think, “I will add just ONE more dish to make sure we have enough to eat” and in the process forget that everyone else brings something as well.

It was an egregiously large amount of food.

I also love that by this time everyone knows how the whole evening flows. The first guests arrived and I indicated where to put their wrapped ornaments and where they should throw their coats. But then I was pulled away to the kitchen. No worries! Someone else just directed the next people on the proper procedure. Everything worked like it was supposed to.

We ate. We talked….a lot and loudly. And then it was on to the main event.

Michelle (in the plaid jacket) started the evening off by unwrapping a freakishly cute Santa. Oh he was SO cute.

And I didn’t even get a picture of her holding up the cute Santa……because she didn’t own him for very long.

Kim had #2……

And she got right up and stole that ornament right off of Michelle’s lap.

Kim looks SO innocent and sweet. Do not be fooled.

Yeah, Kim. Enjoy owning that Santa…..it won’t be for very long.

Michelle then opened a very cute snowman snow globe sort of thing…..

She didn’t own that for very long either.

Every year there is someone who just seems to get ornaments stolen from her….this was Michelle’s year.

Dottie picks an awesomely cute snowman dressed in a Santa coat ornament.

Then someone stole the Santa ornament from Kim so she got right up and stole that Snowman Santa from Dottie. The strike was swift and precise…..just like she had that backup plan in her head.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Dottie next opened the darling velvet Christmas Stockings. They would have looked LOVELY on the tree that she has set up in her basement……if she had been allowed to keep them. She was lulled into a false sense of ornament security until it was Hope’s turn. Hope, oh Hope. You look so young and innocent. And yet your heart was full of ornament thievery.

Michelle had the Snowman Snow globe snatched from her possession and then opened up these rather fabulously cute animal print ornaments…..

Which Kim promptly stole from her when someone else stole Kim’s ornament. Michelle and Kim don’t know each other all that well, having only really interacted once a year at the ornament exchange. But Michelle now feels fairly confident that she will remember Kim’s name FOR. ALL. TIME.

Lin opens her chosen box, which contained these really cool silver ornaments…..

Which Susie is now holding up as she stole them from Lin.

Lin then picked another box which ended up containing a decidedly wonderful squirrel ornament. I didn’t even have time to take a photo of Lin and her ornament before…..

It was appropriated by Heather (sister of Heart Filled with Thievery Hope). And I wasn’t even able to photograph her possession of that ornament before……..

Michelle turned around and stole the squirrel from Heather. And since that was the SECOND time that the squirrel had changed owners……

Michelle was safe and got to take the squirrel home.

Heather picked another ornament……

Which Kim promptly stole after her ornament ended up in someone else’s grasp.

Frankly, at one point, there was so much stealing going on at such a swift pace that I personally lost track of what was happening.

It might also have been because I was laughing so hard that I was about to “drop my contents” as The Pioneer Woman would say.

Carolyn spent some time shopping at the Store of LaurenLeap.

Shoo! Go Away! These are not the ornaments you are looking for!

And about this time Max the Magnificent figured out that he can push the laundry room door open and just come to the party. But he was VERY nervous. There was a great deal of yelling and I think he wasn’t sure whether it was a Brown’s football game, we were all mad or just crazy.

So he wandered into the kitchen to laboriously lick the floor.

And finally it was done. And everyone, hopefully, went home with an ornament that they will like.

And none of us was arrested for Grand Theft.

I count that as success.