A New Way To Entertain

The Covid germs have changed how we live our lives. But I never thought we would be holding a party in a garage.

Recently 2 events occurred which required a celebration: my daughter Jennifer graduated from a 2-year Nurse Practitioner program, and my son James got a big promotion at work. We’re pleased for both of them and proud of their spouses who have supported them the entire way. A special dinner seemed appropriate. But with covid case numbers rising, the advice is to stay safe, stay socially distanced. No indoor gatherings. What to do?

Send Skip the Dishes to each of them? Then my husband Peter and I would lose out. Entertain on the patio? What if it rained or, worse yet, snowed? We tiptoed down to the basement and slowly opened the garage door. Not good. See what I mean?

Anybody else would have shut the door and said “forget it!” But we saw potential: the garage is big and it’s surrounded by house on 2 sides, so it’s not too cold. We got to work. Peter moved the cars out and washed the floor. Then he washed the garage door. Really, he was getting carried away!

Meanwhile I went to Dollarama with my mask on and bought a dozen plastic table cloths for $1.25 each. I planned to hang them from the ceiling and cover up all the “stuff” around the walls. I got out the step ladder and tape. But the tape would only stick to the table cloth, not the plaster ceiling. I tried duct tape, rug tape, packing tape. Then I tried school glue, contact cement, and china glue. No luck.

Finally I noticed there were nails protruding from the top of the shelving units which lined the walls. I poked the plastic table cloths through the nails – success. It just meant that the top shelf showed. I would have to hope that people would be having so much fun that they wouldn’t look up! We found some old rugs to cover up the stains Peter couldn’t get out of the floor. Then we raided the patio for outdoor furniture.

Now for some touches of elegance. I got out the good silver and dishes. Who says you can only use them in the dining room? During covid – all things are possible! Next I found battery-operated candles. No real flames allowed in case there were gas cans or paint thinner hiding behind the fake plastic walls. Then I set out a big bottle of hand sanitizer as the table centrepiece, and artfully tossed some gold confetti around it. We were ready!

Oh not quite. Now we had to dress up. But how to look glamorous wearing our winter coats? For temperatures in the single digits, we needed something under our clothes. Thermal underwear to the rescue!

Finally it was party time – and the guests arrived, dressed warmly, but looking a little skeptical; all except Richard who says he wears shorts until after Hallowe’en. But he also brought a hostess gift – gloves for everyone! When drinks were offered, everyone chose Hot apple cider. This was followed by more Hot food – appetizers, meat, vegetables, and Hot pie for dessert. Everyone was upbeat and we had lots of laughs about our new lifestyle.

But as the evening wore on, the 4 guests began to fidget. They put on their gloves. They stomped their feet. They went to the washroom just to warm up. Then James announced that he could see his breath; and maybe it was time to leave. With teeth chattering, everyone agreed that the party had been a success. Then they rushed out to the warmth of their cars.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for; the big reveal:

Beautiful, eh? You can do it too! Just head to your nearest Dollarama right now before all those fabulous table cloths are sold out. Then hit an outdoor store and buy some thermal underwear. You are all set for winter entertaining.

Sue