Neighbor Department Holiday Party

One of the great things about working in a building of about 300 employees with a number of departments during the holiday season:  parties.

Our department hosted a holiday appreciation party last week and this week the group next door to us had one as well.

I love being able to use my new camera phone as well and appreciate all the decorating the group did to make the party feel festive.

In the hall are several long buffet tables filled with food.  The mini-bagels and a variety of flavored cream cheeses are from our beloved Bagel Train.  They also make an excellent Cream of Chicken soup on Thursdays.

Another holiday favorite is the chocolate crumb cake.  Oh my!  The crumbly topping is chocolaty with chocolate drizzle over chocolate cake.  Yes, I've said it before, but breakfast needs dessert.

Well, the party is held mid-morning, brunch time actually, or if you start your day ridiculously early like we do - it could simply be considered an early lunch so cheesecake is not at all out of the question.

Yet more crowd pleasers, ones that we include in our party's menu are the cream puffs and eclairs - oh my!

We have also become experts on the proper serving temperature being somewhere around, just barely thawed to fully appreciate the complexity of the cream filling.

For those experts at setting up a buffet, you may wonder why the desserts are before the fresh fruit and veggies...well, life is too short to always wait to eat dessert, isn't it?

Actually, I can't confirm I took the photos in any particular order and some food was in different rooms and set up separately.  I love that fresh fruits and vegetables were available at all.  I did indulge in some super sweet strawberries, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, carrots and cucumber slices.  I do love pairings and having the veggie cream cheese on my plain mini bagel also provided me with my own dip for the veggies.  The strawberries were a lovely in between bites relief from the decadent chocolate crumb cake.

Last year, this group's holiday party included a 5' sub and unfortunately it was demolished within about 15 minutes.  This year they added an extra foot and some of us realized we could share a slice and still have plenty of food.  The best part of the hero for me was the sweet and thinly sliced ham.  I picked the thickly packed insides out and ate them with a fork and knife.  It is always a challenge to eat party food from a plate in your lap and in front of co-workers.

More for the meat and cheese lovers...

The party lasted for an hour total, but I went, ate, talked a bit and returned to work.  Walking out I noticed the strategically placed bucket-'o-mints.  Well played neighbor department, well played.

What's with the snowy scene owl?  These were the napkins for the party - how cute!

A big part of most employee's lives is the amount of time they spend at work and with co-workers.  I am happy to report this aspect of my life continues to leave me feeling Fed Well.