christmasParty Animal

I love Christmas parties. There is nothing like them. Yesterday I attended my work Christmas party. There was food, games, food, gifts, and food. I work with great people; however, not all of them call themselves ‘Christians’. It seems though, no matter what someone’s relationship with Christ- Christmas is a magical time that tends to bring out the best in everyone.

I know a lot of people who will avoid attending Christmas parties with people who are not baptized in Jesus’ name, filled with the Holy Ghost, or believe in living a holy life unto God. I can understand why they would not, but if there should ever be a season that belongs to blood bought people of the Name it is Christmas.

The first year I went to a work Christmas party there was a lot of wine and alcohol. I walked in the door with my covered dish, a gift for the person whose house we were at, and a group game. The idea of playing a game was something totally foreign to them. We came together, ate, did an ornament exchange, about half the people- the ones who do not drink- left and the holiday drinking started. That was it.

Four years later it was a completely different party. We ate food, did our ornament exchange, played a game and had lots of fun and laughs until about 10:00 PM. (Which for the people I work with, is late) Was there wine? Of course there were people who brought wine and drank, but there were plenty of people who did not. In fact, there were only two bottles of wine as apposed to several things of coke, lemonade, wassail, etc.

Would I possibly be so bold as to say that all of this came about because of me? I would, actually. I never turn down an opportunity to go to someone’s house with the people I work with. They see me everyday in a working environment. They know I have fun at work, in fact, someone said about me recently, “He is always smiling.”- Of course that is not true. I am not always smiling… but apparently I smile enough to be told I do. They should know that I know how to have fun outside of work as well. Especially when it comes to a Christmas party!

At one point, we were in the middle of a game of Cranium with about twenty people in four groups of five- the rest were watching on wishing they had the nerve to join in. One group had just gotten a question correct and all of these thirty-to-forty-something adults are literally jumping up and down, screaming with excitement. It was a fun evening- the way a Christmas party should be.

People of the Name make a difference in every setting- especially at Christmas. If work Christmas parties are not what they should be, or they way you might not like, don’t just skip them. Go with smiles, games, food, and laughs. Show them how to have fun and stay in your right mind. You are probably the closest thing to a live Jesus showing up at there house at Christmas time. When you think of it that way, it almost makes it impossible not to go.