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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
A18 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015 FROM PAGE A1 PARTIES: continued from Page A1 ly simple. After cleaning the house and figuring out where the kids could go for a few hours, Cordell put the coffee on. Whether in private homes or local watering holes, many area holiday gatherings include a theme. According to Evite.com — a digital invitation and so- cial event planning service — some of the most popu- lar holiday themes for gath- erings include cookie or ornament exchanges, ugly sweater, holiday baking or white elephant parties and toy drives. On Dec. 16, Hermis- ton Brewing Co./Nookies Restaurant held an ugly sweater Christmas party. In addition to 10 percent off all day for those donning an ugly sweater, the event crescendoed in the evening with music by Dallin Puzey and Tucker Tovey. They also held drawings for gift baskets, held a raffle and played Roll a Snowman — a dice game drawing a snowman — for a chance to win dessert. The place was packed, said Kimberlie Graffunder, a bartender/waitress. Even though some patrons didn’t wear ugly sweaters, every- one enjoyed the festivities — especially the employ- ees. STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI Angela Todd wore a reindeer sweater and antlers during the Ugly Sweater Christmas Party Dec. 16 at Hermiston Brewing Co./Nookie’s Restaurant. “It makes coming to work exciting,” Graffunder said. “It puts you in the fes- tive mood. I think it brings a little Christmas spirit into the community.” Assistant Manager Ja- nea Fricke was thrilled with all the staff getting into the holiday spirit and dressing up. She dug out her ugly sweater with a snowman motif, which she purchased last year for the restaurant’s event. “Also, the party gets the customers involved with the servers,” Fricke said. “It’s a way to con- nect and have fun.” Fricke was also excited about being able to book Puzey and Tovey for the party, who often bring a STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST Janie Santoyo of Hermiston and Greg Griffitts, chaplain with Hermiston Police Department, finish filling food boxes on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, at Thompson Hall on the Umatilla County Fairgrounds. Behind them is a portion of one of the assembly lines used by Christmas Express volunteers to put the meal boxes together. STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI Lorna Westlund dishes up a plate of food during a Dec. 12 women’s potluck and Christmas sock exchange at the home of Deana Cordell in Hermiston. Employees Caitrin Gormley, Jasmine Stollar, Shelby Coggins, Reagan Deshane and Kimberlie Graffunder pause for a photo during the Ugly Sweater Christmas Party Dec. 16 at Hermiston Brewing Co./Nookie’s Restaurant. large following with them. It just adds to the fun, she said. The coffee klatch la- dies have held a Christ- mas potluck gathering for more than a decade. The first few years, the women rotated where it was held. Then, beginning in 2010, Judy Hayes held an open house party in her new home in conjunction with the event. Being single, Hayes didn’t have to work around her family’s sched- ule and offered her home for the gathering each year until she moved out of the area. The past three years, the party has been held in different women’s homes. “Judy had the gift of hospitality,” said Lorna Westlund. “I don’t have that. I get too stressed out.” Cordell said having the food as a potluck cuts down on the planning and expense of hosting the event. In addition, people get to bring their favorite dish to share with others. “I made a Waldorf sal- ad, which was part of our Christmas tradition from growing up,” Westlund said. “My great-aunt Zella used to make that all the time and it seemed like the perfect thing to take to the get together.” Evolving over time, the gift exchange used to fea- ture presents with a prede- termined dollar amount, said Shawn Logue. Most of the time, the gift ex- change included the white elephant game — AKA Bad Santa, Dirty Santa and Yankee Swap. Although it typically takes a lot lon- ger to open the presents, Logue said it adds to the fun. “I like the stealing,” she said. “It’s fun and un- predictable.” With the last couple of years being an ornament exchange, Cordell thought it wold be fun to do some- thing different after see- ing the idea about a sock exchange on the Internet. Since Cordell enjoys fill- ing Christmas stockings for her family, she thought the ladies would have fun filling socks with small items like candy, lotion, nail polish, lip gloss, holi- day-themed gag toys. ‘“I thought people could be creative and have fun with it,” Cordell said. Even with the food and gift exchange, Cordell said the best thing about the party was just being together. Sitting around chatting, she said, was her favorite part of the eve- ning. Greene agreed. “These are very special women in my life,” she said. “I don’t get to see them all the time during the year, so these gather- ings are important to re- connect.” FOOD: ed by growers like the Co- lumbia Basin Onion’s Alan Cleaver and the Walchli families for both produce and equipment, canned food collected with the help of local students in food drives and financial con- tributions from individual donors and groups like the Hermiston Rotary Club, which are used to buy addi- tional food. “I never knew how gen- erous this community was until I took this over,” Ed- miston said. “I can call any farmer and tell them what I need” and the next thing he knows, the need is met. Christmas Express also spends between $8,000 and $13,000 each year for food. Edmiston said he seeks bids on the other food goods, and this year the additional food was pur- chased through Walmart. Members of Living Faith Church have also volun- teered to help this year with presents for the children up to fifth grade in families that receive food boxes. Schools and area church- es also help to identify those in need of the donated food and gifts. This is the second year that all city departments have joined the program. And city workers put the boxes together in two as- sembly lines, filling enough boxes, stacked six rows high, to fill 12 pallets. Christmas Express be- gan in 1969 when Dick Hodge, a local insurance agent, asked then-police chief Bob Shannon to help distribute leftover toys to children who may not have received gifts that year. The police department now co- ordinates the annual charity drive. continued from Page A1 to put together about 500 food boxes. The boxes are being disbursed from the Agape House this week, through today, to families that would most benefit. 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