Early New Year Eve Party--Comet style

In trying to think of a service project we could do as a family this year, I decided it would be nice to not have everything happen in the weeks leading up to Christmas. So I thought it would be fun to do a party for Jena's Special Olympics team.  They have always been so kind to us and Jena and have included her in many fun extra things beyond just our team practices and tournaments.  So I made a plan and convinced Gary and Jena and some of my dear sweet neighbors and their families to help us out and we hosted:

Early New Year Eve Party for all Comets

and their families

 

It was held at our local LDS Church

on Friday, Dec. 28.

 

It was awesome and I am so thankful to our friends who helped us make it work, but mainly for our Comet athletics and their families.  I am not one to romanticize life with children with special needs.  Although life with Jena is fairly straightforward, for some families it is a constant worry and hardship.  Yes, there are sweet moments that are amazing and we can't imagine our families without them.....but it is not all sweetness and light.  It can be stress and stain.  However the families of the Comets as well as their athletics are terrific.  To interact with them and to watch them interact with each other is a pleasure.  They are working hard to provide their children and their young adult children life with the extras like sports and social interactions.  To party with them is to love them once again.

 

The night started with some seat-mixing games
and then some minute to win it games.
We ended up with about 125 people there including our neighbors who helped.

After the "gathering games" we had four activities including
the dance. Above is the bingo area getting ready to start.
Below is Kaitlyn and Jena posing by our New York backdrop
We had two backdrops and lots of props
where the athletics with their family
or friends could dress up and take pictures--a big hit

Apparently this is the "New York" pose

We also had a small craft---a bird feeder with apple, peanut butter
and bird seed  (an old Cub Scout favorite). 
Three MiaMaids in our ward offered to help as
they needed service hours.  They were great--taking care of the bird feeder activity,
dancing with us, and helping with clean-up and set-up.

 The DANCE

Jena loves to dance and did nothing else for 1 1/2 hours straight.

At the end she posed for a couple of pictures and she did eat cake

and maybe a few chips.  But dancing was her favorite.

Not sure which dance this was

Someone donate this "Comet" cake.  It was gluten free which
many people with Down syndrome deal with.
I didn't get a picture of the whole comet
but it was a fun cake and tasted
great.  It had both vanilla and chocolate cake
on opposite ends.

Rock on Jena

Sweet friends who took care of the food for me.

As we were cleaning up I got Jena to pose with Meggan
one of our neighbor helpers for this 2012 picture.

Last item, two pinatas:
one for siblings and one for the athletics.
No matter how old you are, it is fun to hit
something and make candy fall to the floor.

Gary handled the music for the dance borrowing on our recent experience with Christmas dances and our neighborhood party.  However he had a new twist this time as people shared music from their phones and Ipods.  It was great but I kept saying to Gary make sure the music is appropriate.  It was so fun.  I would definitely plan one next year and some neighbors have indicated they would love to be involved again.  We will see if the Comets and their families feel the same way.

 

It is interesting how as life moves forward for me, experiences from the past (like Cub Scouts and party planning) become skills to be used in other settings to share fun and love for one another.  I am not sure that "planning" is a gift of the Spirit listed in the Doctrine and Covenants but it is my gift of the Spirit.  I love watching something I thought about (with loads of help including divine help) come to pass and to watch people have fun and make friends.  We(and I--depending on the setting) are going to be doing more of that this coming year.  Crisis situations can bring people together---but so can fun and playing games and being together.  Doing that first will help us deal with the trials that come from a better position of strength because we know each other and who we can turn to.  So let the fun and Games begin...............