The fun began even as we waited for all the guests to arrive. Some of us spent time grinning in front of the sketch artist who rendered his version of our family portraits. The rests of us chatted while enjoying our favorite beverages.
As soon as the last guest had arrived, Mark and Sharon led us to the buffet table. There were all kinds of food for everybody. As we walk through the buffet line, we were entertained by caterers doing their thing, turning pieces of beef and chicken into savory stroganoffs.
By the way, we were honored by the presence of some of our clients and friends. Marci's buddies, Rich Shanklin and Anita Barber were there. Our jewelers, Leroy and Vivian Pittman were also present, as well as our friends from Heritage Financial, Anthony Rossetti and his wife and Ana Fernandez. Paul was also there to enjoy the night with us. Ed's parents were with us also.
After we had our dinners, we headed to the blackjack tables. Like last year, we started with $5,000 worth of chips to keep or play with. The idea was to win a lot of chips which would later be exchanged for raffle tickets. The gambling went well into the night and and so did the drinking. Through it all, none of us got drunk but some of us lost our voices after having shouted 'blackjack' on top of our lungs so many times. We didn't think Linda was capable of yelling but she did to our amazement. This card dealer at this one game table gave us $1,000 chip each time we hollered "blackjack" if one appeared on the table. Many of us did not win much but we ended up knowing the game a little better. Thanks to Kyle for teaching us the mental aspects of the game. When it was time to count the chips, it was Ed and Sharon who ended with the most, followed by Kyle and Michel. We certainly missed Dan and Debbie who were unable to defend their title as last year's blackjack champion.
It was getting late so Laura did not waste any more time and gathered everybody by the living room. The obvious highlight of the evening was about to take place. The much awaited winner of the first BKC door decorating competition was to be announced. Without further ado, and with most of us holding our breath, Laura declared Mike's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" door the best.
Laura then proceeded to the raffle event. Ted was given the honor of drawing the grand prize winner who turned out to be Sharon. Ted drew another ticket for the second prize winner. Sharon's number came up again. The third and last raffle prize went to Stephanie.
Another BKC holiday party was in the books. Some got more exhausted than others but, all in all, everyone had equal share of fun. Thanks a lot to Marci, Mark and Sharon for providing us with such an evening to enjoy.
