Don’t Miss the Party

‘Tis the season.  Once you are past the Santa stage, or you are on the permanent naughty list the season is about a lot of celebrating, eating and imbibing.  If you are someone like me who can ill afford the holiday treats you have two choices. You can skip the merriment, parties and get togethers and hide out away from the Christmas cookies, cheesy hors d’oeuvres and bubbly drinks or you can go and be merry, but make a plan before you do.

I strongly suggest you don’t miss the party.  As the song says, “What good is sittin’ alone in your room?”   Depriving yourself of the company could cause you to actually eat more alone than you might have eaten if you joined in the fun.

Here are my tips for holiday party enjoyment without the guilt.

1. Always eat something before you go so you won’t lose all will power at the sight of ham biscuits just because you are starving.
2. Try and not drink your calories.  Alcohol in excess breaks down your eating defenses as well as could cause you to lose your panties.  If you really want a drink try and make every other one water.
3. Don’t even start on the sweets because one bite of pecan pie begets another and before you know it you have begotten yourself into a whole pie’s worth of dessert.
4. At buffets take the smallest plate you can find even if that means using the teacup saucer.  Fill the whole thing up with salad and top it with one bite of the bad thing you really want.
5. Sit is the hardest seat to get out of so you will have trouble getting up to get seconds.
6. Find the most interesting person to talk to so that you don’t need to use an excuse to go get food to get out of a boring conversation.
7. Tell your friends you are trying to be good about what you are eating at parties and if they try and push food on you spit in their drink when they are not looking.

Tonight I am going to my friend Carol’s cookie swap.  She is a really good friend because she offered guests the option of coming and not participating in the cookie part if the cookies are a problem.  Now that is a hostess who knows that the camaraderie is more important than the sweets.

So don’t mope around and miss the fun, join in, but stick to your guns.