Senior Center guests enjoy Christmas party
GRAVETTE — Guests at the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center enjoyed a Christmas party on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
The day included games, snacks, an ugly sweater contest, a gift exchange, and Christmas dinner. Fifty-seven dinners were served that day.
Tables were gaily decorated with holiday tablecloths, poinsettias, and Christmas candies. Shortbread cookies and assorted candies were placed at each table setting. Each guest also received letters written and ornaments made by students at Gravette schools.
Festivities began shortly after 9:30 a.m. when a series of games were played. Those who exchanged gifts were seated around a table, and each selected a gift. Each time a gift was selected, players passed it around the circle while Christmas songs were played. When the music stopped, the person holding the new gift unwrapped it. He could keep the gift and leave the game or continue passing it around the circle. The game continued until all the gifts were removed from the table. Another game was played in which teams of players competed in trying to toss balls into baskets atop the heads of their teammates.
Snacks were available throughout the morning. Cocktail sausages, cheese and crackers, grapes, brownies, and fruit punch were served.
An ugly sweater contest was held shortly before lunch. Several entrants modeled their sweaters for the crowd, and voters selected their first-, second-, and third-place choices. Raye Deen Boyle was selected as the winner by a wide margin, and LaVonda Augustine and Connie Lashley tied for second place. Each winner received a gift bag containing a blanket.
Juanita Whiteside presented center director Melissa Provence with a cash gift just before lunch was served. Whiteside has been collecting donations from center patrons and friends in recent weeks to help fund the purchase of a new bus for the center. She presented Provence with a donation of $3,438 collected from her efforts and donations received at Hometown Christmas.
Provence collected $693 at Hometown Christmas, selling cinnamon rolls and turnovers baked at the center. This also included winning the $100 cash prize for having the best-decorated booth at the celebration. So, a total of $4,131 was collected for the bus during that weekend.
Christmas dinner was served at 11:30 a.m., with each diner enjoying glazed ham with pineapple, sweet potato casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole, a roll, cranberry relish, and pecan cobbler topped with ice cream.
After dinner, several guests lingered throughout the afternoon visiting, playing cards and Wii bowling.