My 1st day of Christmas

Christmas gathering 1: Christmas Eve

A groups of us in Leiden got together in someone's lovely apartment and had a potluck dinner and exchanged small gifts. The food was great and quite diverse, considering no plans had been made for what each person should bring. We amazingly ended up with only one dessert, which was a delicious apple and raisin bread pudding with maple sauce. There were also Spanish cheeses, salads, homemade Chinese dumplings, and some curry and samosas. After we'd stuffed ourselves, we started a game to dole out the gifts. You rolled a die and each number had an certain action, plus there were slips of paper to draw with further actions. So gifts were shuffled around and won and lost (first while still wrapped, then unwrapped), but of course in the end everyone got something. I got an LED headlamp. Very handy!

We then settled in with conversation and wine, and eventually the hostess set up a hookah with fruity tobacco. It was the first time I'd used one and I quite liked it, especially in such a nice, social setting. A wonderful evening in all.