Lessons learned

 When it comes to the ward Christmas Social:

1. Do not underestimate the amount of time it takes to paint huge murals on the church walls.
2. When, after many requests for more committee members, your committee is comprised of only three people, be prepared to stress to the breaking point.
3. Don't leave tasks that can be done ahead of time to the final week.
4. Even though the food may come together at the last possible second, it can still be delicious.
5. Coordinate with your business partner so that you are dressed alike and are wearing matching homemade poinsettia hair clips.
6. Adorable clear gift bags from the dollar store, when filled with popcorn and M&Ms for Santa to hand out to the kids, will bust open at the seams and spill all over the floor, requiring you to vacuum and sweep multiple times.
7. Plan for the amount of people that have been coming the Christmas Social every December since you've been in the ward...and then feel like crying when only half that amount shows up.
8. Be pleasantly surprised when one of the best parts of the evening is the singing of "12 Days of Christmas," which is sung in parts by the guests according to which of the 12 appropriately themed tables they're sitting at.
9. Be thankful for the talented friends and spouses who chip in at the eleventh hour.
10. Make it home in record time after the social is over because of the overwhelming amount of cleanup help from the ward members.
11. Promise yourself that yes, this is the last time you put yourself through this.