The 2011 Office Christmas Luncheon

My co-workers have luncheons together at numerous times throughout the year, but the Thanksgiving and Christmas luncheons are always the best. I actually missed this year's Thanksgiving luncheon because I was away at a workshop that day, but I was indeed there for yesterday's Christmas luncheon and thought I would report in. I made this Olive-Walnut Dip, and I'm pleased it got favorable reviews!

It's basically the Olive-Walnut spread I use for tea sandwiches, but I added sour cream to make it more of a dip consistency. The recipe: 3 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese, 3/4 cup chopped olives, 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, 1 (16-ounce) carton sour cream. Mix well and you're done! (That makes a heap of dip, by the way. For a smaller gathering, I would probably make only a third of the recipe.)

It's always fun to see the long tables laden with ham and turkey, casseroles, crockpots full of hot vegetables and more.

There were other appetizers besides mine, and ...

... a nice assortment of salads too.

The dessert table, you won't be surprised to hear, is always a popular spot.

The Banana Pudding and Mandarin Orange Cake got great reviews!

And to wash it all down, we always, always have a nice big tea station.

But the real reason I *had* to share the luncheon with my tea friends this year is that I thought you might want to see what my co-worker and husband, Mr. Tea With Friends, brought to the table this year. It was inspired by a post on newspaper columnist Dave Barry's blog (he was writing about the worst nativity scenes ever). Pictures follow. Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!