Despite a few no-shows, I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all at the first annual Festivus party. Bone had the refreshment table decorated with a traditional solid red table cloth, and served an array of delicious refreshments, ranging from Junior Mints and Twix to chips and salsa. (But no double-dipping!) The celebration began with the Festivus dinner, which consisted of Domino's pizza. While eating, the guests enjoyed "The Outing" episode of Seinfeld, followed by "The Strike," from which Festivus originated.
Next, it was time for the Airing of Grievances. This actually worked out better than I ever thought it would. The grievance worksheets were passed around and everyone worked on them for about fifteen minutes. Then James, playing the part of Frank Costanza, read a bit from "The Strike" script. After that, each of the guests took turns standing by the Festivus pole and airing his or her grievances. The pole was a big hit, especially with Buzz.
Following that, we played a game of Cranium. The team of Bone, Java, Bootay, and James narrowly defeated the foursome of J-Mo, Buzz, Little Joe, and Meghan. After that was over, the Asians decided they had to leave early. Something about "It's already Saturday afternoon in China!" So the six of us who remained decided to play No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em. I guess this was our version of the Feats of Strength. Little Joe and I were the only ones to leave with anything more than our underwear and car keys.
I think everyone finally ended up leaving a little after 1:00. Of course, I was up to nearly 3:00 after Buzz and Meghan presented me with this:
River Raid, Combat, Missile Command, Yars' Revenge, Pitfall, etc. And original controllers! Are you kidding me?
Here are some Festivus pics and a couple of other random pics from the weekend:
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6. 
1. The official Airing of Grievances worksheet.
2. Java Boo Boo airs his grievances with women everywhere.
3. Two sleepy girls on my couch. The last time that happened? Hmm...
4. 'Neath my tree, circa 4:30 PM Saturday. See? It's not OCD. Just don't dare move any of them.
5. "You know, I really thought there'd be more girls here... not that there's anything wrong with that."
6. Day after Festivus/Christmas Eve lunch. It was during this meal that I decided I had a new favorite part of the female anatomy.
So, the pole is back in the crawlspace (actually up on a shelf in the laundry room). The grievances have been aired. Festivus is over. I proudly declare the first annual Festivus party a qualified success. And if I don't get kicked out, as we got quite loud the other night, I plan to have another one next year. I was reading the other day that Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday. Hey, at least we were first in something. And if I have anything to do with it, we'll be the first to recognize Festivus as well.
"How can it be permissible? She compromised my principle, yeah yeah. That kind of love is mythical. She's anything but typical..."
You know, I was expecting there to be more girls as well. Oh wait.
ReplyDeleteThe A.O.G. was the best ever. Well, it's hard to compare I guess, since it was the first time for all of us. We should have tried the feats of strength... although there probably would have been a hole knocked in your living room wall.
Wow, I look dead in pic #5. That must've been around 11 PM... which is about 2 hours past my bedtime. hoot hoot!
Looking forward to the next get together in 2006!
It looks like a lot of fun was had by all... and I don't think it is OCD, I think you just like having everyhting in order.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused about the female anatomy statement?!?
First, I'd like to hire you to come clean my house on a regular basis. Second, I would like to come play Atari with you! Third, I have many grievances to bear, I could take up hours at the Festivus pole. I will begin my list for next year! Sounds like you all had a great time! Let the tradition continue!
ReplyDeleteJava: I thought Lil Bootay and I were about to have an impromptu Feats of Strength a time or two there.
ReplyDeleteSherry: Well, you had to be there to get that. One particular girl had an exceptional particular asset.
Carney: Are you saying my house looks clean? All the photos are taken from strategically chosen angels, and some cropping of pictures is done, as well :-)
"I would like to come play Atari with you!"
I've been looking a long time for a girl to say those words to me ;-)
You can still buy an Atari? Who knew?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a happy festivus was had by all!
What the hell is Atari???
ReplyDelete(KIDDING!)
Glad you had a good time.
Looks like fun, but I still wanna wrestle Carney.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, this is FANTASTIC! Well done. I stand in awe of your Seinfeld commitment.
ReplyDeleteLizzie: Yeah, I had no idea. I had forgotten how much fun Pong was.
ReplyDeleteHeather: Are you really kidding? I know it was probably before your time.
Coyote: You'll have to take that up with Carney. She won't do anything I tell her.
Southie: Why, thank you! How did you hear about my site? It's another Festivus miracle! Always good to hear from a fellow Seinfeld devotee.
I am making it for Festivus next year! Dangit! That looks like fun! I never had an Atari. :( My dad was cheap. We had Calecovision or some crap like that. The controllers were really weird. They had number pads on them. I was starting to get worried there, but that last picture had you in it, so I wasn't so upset. You need to turn that camera over to someone else! We need more pictures of Bone!
ReplyDeleteA Festivus party, that is awesome. The Atari looks cool, nothing was more state of the art than Pitfall.
ReplyDeleteLass: Coleco Vision! I remember that. And how about the Commodore 64? That reminds me of a Seinfeld. Jerry never had a GI Joe. He had an Army Pete. And he was made of wood and in the rain he would swell up and then split.
ReplyDeleteI feel vain posting pics of myself. Not to mention I don't want to make it entirely easy for hotties to stalk me.
Liz: Pitfall is great. Although it seems like I was much better at it when I was like seven.
And then there's Adventure, where my character is nothing more than a square.
Looks and sounds like you had an awesome Festivus party - congrats! The pictures help tell the story - very cool.
ReplyDeleteThe presents look very nice and neat under the tree. I did miss having my tree and decorations this year - oh well. Next year.
Dave held his Festivus party at a Dave and Buster's restaurant/bar/game place. They had a great time (I missed it due to work issues) and Dave even won the Feats of Strength. I'm marrying a winner - yippee! :-)
Um, I believe employers are required to let you off for Festivus.
ReplyDeleteOr at least, if I get my way, they soon will be :-)