Every December, for the past few years, Carol has been the hostess-suprema by allowing us to enjoy her festive and tropically-holiday-decorated  home for a gathering to  exchange gifts (valued $25 and under), share  home-baked cookies, drink mimosas and have fun.  She ingeniously  features a Babes-style pot-luck salad bar for lunch, then we get down to business by pulling numbers to determine who gets to choose the first gift. 

In the world of salad bar architecture, the Babes version rates fairly high.  Fresh-from-the-farmer’s market  island  greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, celery, cheeses, dried cranberries, fresh fruit, dates, sugared nuts, and curried garbanzos, were among the  profusion  of salad-bar elements.

   

 

 

 

While enjoying our healthy and delicious lunch, it was hard to ignore the lavish display of baked goods that beckoned us with its siren’s call of chocolate, and every other imaginable  sweet temptation known to mankind.  The  sugary mélange would have to wait; preempted by  the mound of festively wrapped gifts that lay under Carol’s mele-mele palm tree.   

 

While carrying our mimosas (which, frankly,  resembled straight champagne at that point) to the living room, each Babe approached the pile with their own version of steely determination and xray vision.   

I have always been amazed and proud of the courtesy and respect shown to each other by this group of assertive and purposeful women, however those traits seem to fade during the gift exchange and are replaced by an almost furtive, covert attribute that is very unbecoming of a Kona Babe – fortunately  those characteristics are shortlived, with a lifespan of about an hour! 

 

As the rules go during these cat-and-mouse events, each Babe pulls a number to determine the order of participants.  The Number 1  position is coveted as she will get to pick a gift  again at the end of the line, usurping any  previous choice.   Before each subsequent participant selects a present, she has the option to “steal” any gift  from the others before her.  A package can only be “seized” 3 times and not by the original gifter – which would be quite absurd, if you wanted to take home what you brought! 

The following photos reveal that this year, most of the Babes were pleased with their original selections, and that a minimum of gift hijacking ensued.   By the time we entered the realm of dessert-land, everyone was smiling and in great spirits.

 

I really cannot add much to the cookie lineup– and in lieu of dialogue, offer photos for your enjoyment!  I will say that all cookie allocation went smoothly and that a week later, I am still nibbling on crumbs. 

Thank you Carol for being such a gracious and perfect hostess!  A genuine Kona  Babe!!

 

Annie posted herself near the front door, the salad bar, and the cookie table!