Who: EVERYBODY! Mini-thread your hearts out! When: 7pm and beyond Where: The foyer, around the giant x-mas tree
It was a good thing that Jack was back, Pam had decided earlier in the day, because she really hadn't given herself enough time in the day to do everything that she wanted. While Jack and a few helpers cooked, Pam had Oliver help her move tables and chairs from the living room, dining room, and study into the main foyer, before moving the large boxes of unused decorations into the study. Not that those decorations stayed unused. While someone had done a pretty decent job decorating the tree and the room the day before, it wasn't quite to Pam's liking, and so things got moved and redecorated, a few more ornaments went up on the tree, and lights and tinsel were intertwined and wrapped around every inch of railing from the first floor up to the second floor's overhang. She'd even stuck a smaller tree up there, figuring that if someone wanted to go up there for a quieter conversation, it should still be festive, and part of the party. She set up a little thing of mistletoe directly under that second floor overhang, and took down any other mistletoe leaves that she found in the immediate area-- this party was for mingling and not making out, after all.
After the decorating, Pam had dragged down the stereo system from the gym, with the new Christmas music that They had delivered. Personally, she wanted to keep it on old classics all night. Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, that sort of stuff. And really, she could have, because there was a ton of the old stuff, probably to nobody's surprise. Still, she threw in some contemporary stuff for good measure. The Barenaked Ladies had a holiday album, after all, and she liked their rendition of I Have A Little Dreidel. She put the sound system near the tree, because if anyone wanted to dance, or sing along, it should absolutely be near the most Christmasy part of the room.
Later came the food, which Pam had hardly had a chance to help with. Again, thank God that Jack was back, and the delicious scents wafting out of the kitchen all day had only cemented that sentiment. Near the kitchen, next to the liquor and soda that Pam had dragged out of the billiard room, was Jack's incredible spread. Ham, as per request, and also a really nice roast beef ("because Jewish people," Jack had said, to which Pam had squealed and pulled the man into a hug), plus some delicious looking sides, like salad, roasted veggies, lemon pepper green beans, biscuits, and some potatoes that Kiley had made that Pam was a little reluctant to try. Juno's egg nog was looking good, though, which was great, since Juno had volunteer to play bartender for the evening. It gave her enough hope that she put a sign up by the bar saying "Juno is a professional bartender! Feel free to ask her to mix you a drink!" though the next time she passed it, an additional note of "though DIY is encouraged" had been added, as well as a list of drinks.
Pam's favorite part, though, was the cookies. She'd set aside a whole table just for cookies. A good deal of them had been iced by the people working in the kitchen, but she'd made sure that they left half of them undecorated, so she could set up a cookie decorating station. She'd thrown a bunch of different color icings on the table, as well as different shaped sprinkles and gel tubes and candies. She loved it. Everyone could decorate their own cookies, and it would just be super fun! She imagined she'd be making multiple stops over there through the night. She had a weakness for cookies.
Finally, after hours of set up and another hour of getting herself and Juno ready, Pam returned downstairs in her red and white Christmas dress, with the pretty lace and the low neckline, plus her hair pulled back and her makeup perfectly in place. She flipped on the music, and did her best not to squeal at just how damn Christmas it was in the room.