Despite the nightmares I had about oversleeping and not getting my turkey into the oven on time, I managed to bake my 17 lb. turkey, make two big trays of dressing, two with the "green bean casserole", and one tray of yams with marshmallows ontop.
Hubby carved the turkey and we hauled the food over to church. The room was all set up with red tablecloths, candy in little dishes on each table, and poinsettia plants here and there. One table held a coffee pot, another container of punch and one with hot cider. Another table had all sorts of homemade deserts, pie, cakes, cookies and even fudge.
The serving table was loaded with ham, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, yams, green salad, rolls, and sweet bread. Some of us stood behind the table and served up what people wanted. Others brought more food out from the kitchen, while others quickly prepared or brought out more of whatever dish we ran out of.
The paper had a notice in the Christmas morning addition and there was big sign inviting anyone who needed a place to go for Christmas dinner out on the highway. The dinner was to start at 1, but we began serving people at noon.
Many of the people we fed were the workers--and lots of members of my family since I usually have Christmas dinner at my house. However, we had many people come we've never seen before. And it was obvious they really appreciated (and needed) the Christmas dinner. We delivered 8 meals to people who called asking for them, and one family was picked up and brought to the church and taken home afterward.
It was a lot of work--but it was also a joy. What a great way to spend Christmas day! My daughter-in-law, son and grandson helped serve the food and enjoyed themselves. My granddaughter put people's names on name tags.
I hope we do it again. I'm really proud of our tiny church, it is definitely a church with a big heart and I think we truly showed our Christmas spirit.
(I'm a terrible photographer--frankly I took these photos and then totally forgot to take any more. Of course most of the time I was behind the serving table, dishing up food for people.)
Marilyn
Marilyn: What a beautiful way to spend the holiday! You and your family are an inspiration, doing something so generous and truly in the spirit of giving. Maggie
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thing you help do. My hubby and I go to a local church for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and we are so appreciative of the people who holds these events. When you are alone or just for two people it's hard to make a big dinner. You have leftovers forever. ha ha Bless you and all who does this. susan L.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely received our blessings right there that day. I've never had a more fulfilling Christmas day--and my family, who worked like troopers, felt the same way.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn
Is it too late to snag a piece of pie, Marilyn? Yum! What a perfectly wonderful Christmas celebration. I'm sure it meant a lot to everyone.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful gesture!
ReplyDelete