Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Earl’s friends, Sue and Don, throw what I call the Grand Finale of Holiday Parties each year. They’ve been at it a long time and have it down to a science.

First the computer-generated invitation arrives before Thanksgiving, announcing the date and time. The location is always the same: Don and Sue’s home in Park Ridge, Illinois.

I imagine the guest list ebbs and flows, but we have been regulars for the ten years Earl and I have been together.

Nothing else happens from the guests’ point of view until the day of the big event. Then we scramble to purchase a host/hostess gift, usually a bottle of wine or a plant that joins other bottles and plants when we arrive at the home. It’s not very imaginative on our part, but it’s part of the routine.

The first year I went with Earl, I studied the collection of Santa Clauses that graced the fireplace mantel. Then I studied the tree in the front room. Earl roamed around sampling appetizers and catching up with friends he knew from previous lives. I think he enjoyed it more than I did. But time, and effort, have a way of making things more enjoyable.

I don’t know which anniversary of my first party this year is, but I’m looking forward to it more than before. I’ve come to know some of the regulars and can hold a decent conversation. Earl and I and Don and Sue have gotten together throughout the years, so I have some personal memories with them as well. I even know their grown children’s names without prompting. In addition, we’ve gotten to know their next-door neighbors, since they have a home in Michigan.

Enjoying an annual party is a progressive sort of thing. The first year, it’s pretty much dull and boring. The second year, maybe less so. But, given enough time and enough effort, any Grand Finale is worth attending. If you’re just starting out on a scenario that’s similar, take my word for it.