I love love love the holidays! Not just because it is a time to bake, decorate and sprinkle holiday magic all around but when I turn the corner into November I  give myself the space to plan family and friend gatherings . Since 2008 I have hosted a mama’s only holiday party initially inspired by the fact that during the holidays  the ladies of the house tend to be the ones juggling not only the day to day schedules and needs of a household but the responsibilities of holiday joy – the cooking, the decorating, the buying ,wrapping,  hiding, and shipping of presents, the gathering of family, the scheduling and if you are a mama to little ones explaining the magic and mystery of Santa. Basically you are a full sized Elf who’s work is not done till the presents are under the tree, all have been fed with holiday treats, and the decorations are put away hopefully by mid January! So my mama’s only party is a time to celebrate the ladies and all we do, to give us a break (for goodness sake) and to share some cocktails and cheer the way that only a gathering of awesome gals can.  Also let’s face it nothing like company coming to make you tighten up ship and get out the holiday decorations. This past holiday season the party just didn’t come together – some travels in November and a large (fantastic) family gathering for Thanksgiving kind of took all I had . I definitely missed this annual gathering and am thinking about some kind of spring fling (so stay tuned) . In the meantime before spring officially arrives to take over the winter that wasn’t (sigh – I really missed the snow!) I thought I’d look back on last years party. I switched things up a bit and took the party outside for a gathering around the bonfire with sweets and savories, spiked sips and sparklers (of course!). I asked that the ladies bring a story, poem or reading to share around the fire. Some were sweet, silly and sentimental and yes there were tears! But mostly it was a lovely, intimate gathering around the fire with some amazing women.

Special thanks to Jordan Moody of Brea McDonald Photography for capturing all the fun, details and love of the party!