The Morning After

This year we decided to invite all our neighbours in for an evening of mulled wine and mince pies. We live in a rural area with a cluster of houses adjacent to farmland, so it was nine families in total. As our road is fast with nasty bends we all end up driving everywhere and so it is very easy to go about your day to day life without actually seeing anyone, let alone have a conversation. Add to this the fact that we are no longer at the school gate twice a day and you can feel a bit reclusive. We feel that community is important and so Christmas was a good excuse to invite everyone in.
We initially had some resistance from the children, especially as one family included a child they had known from another class in school and who they felt was unfriendly. We had a run of 'do we have to?', 'they don't invite us so why should we invite them?'. We felt it was important though and that we all need to be pushed outside our comfort zone sometimes and to make an effort instead of just using being busy as an excuse. We therefore went ahead, softening the blow by pointing out that it would be a fantastic opportunity to socialise Holly and that they could consider it a puppy party instead! We gave out Christmas cards early, including invitations and all but one couple accepted.
On the evening we lit lots of candles, had music playing and lots of mulled wine and nibbles, and with the Christmas tree all lit up it was a lovely festive atmosphere. After the introductions, which were a bit iffy as we were trying to remember names having not lived here that long ourselves, everyone seemed to be getting along really well. The children initially found it a bit awkward but then a big gang of them went outside with torches and wands that Santa had brought to play Harry Potter. Apparently they offended one little boy by suggesting that he should be Professor Umbridge but otherwise a good time was had by all.
At breakfast the next day we then asked the children how they had found the party and whether we should do it again next year. They agreed that although they had had reservations, on balance it been a good thing to do. They heard one lady say that she had lived here 14 years and it was the first time she had spoken to another lady just a few doors up and so could see the benefit of having helped bring people together. Hopefully they have also learnt how it is good to be the ones to take the initiative rather than just sitting back and waiting for life to happen!