Page 2 - A Holiday To Remember 2016

2 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Hiring a caterer can cut down on holiday planning stress.
Catering keeps crises
out of the party equation
As enjoyable as the
holiday season may
be, quite a number of day meals, hours shopping for
people admit to feeling pres-
sured by the demands of
shopping, wrapping, and
hosting events. According to a services of a professional
poll from the American Psy-
chological Association, up to
70 percent of people feel
stressed out by a lack of time deal with the stress of meal
and/or money during the
holidays.
But stress does not have to
turn this festive time of year holiday party catered, you
into something less enjoyable. should keep a few factors in
By removing some of the
work involved in holiday
planning and hosting, individ- Referrals
uals can free up time and
enjoy a more relaxing holiday
party. For example, holiday
By enlisting the
services of a
professional caterer,
hosts can still throw
festive events with
great food while
letting someone else
deal with the stress
of meal planning.
hosts may spend several
weeks organizing their holi-
the ingredients, and still more caterer. The longer you wait,
time preparing and cooking
the food. By enlisting the
caterer, hosts can still throw
festive events with great food
while letting someone else
planning — and the inevitable
cleanup.
If you decide to have your
mind as you consider your
options.
If you have never used a
local caterer before, seek
recommendations from neigh-
bors and friends. There are
many different types of ca-
terers, and some restaurants
even provide catering serv-
ices. Referrals can help hosts
find the right caterer for the
style of gathering they are
hoping to host and help them
avoid caterers who may not be
the best people to work with.
Book early
The holiday season is a
busy time of year for many
businesses, caterers included.
The sooner the contract is
Metro Creative Connection
negotiated, the better. Lock in
the date and desired foods as
soon as you decide to use a
the more your options dwin-
dle, as caterers’ schedules tend for me. My husband, Ronnie,
to book up quickly. Have a
second-favorite caterer at the
ready in case the first one is
booked solid.
Packages
Some caterers will only
provide the food. Others are
full-service providers and will
bring much of what’s needed
to entertain. This can include
cutlery, plates, chafing dishes,
napkins, linens, condiments,
and more. Understand fully
what each potential catering
package includes. It may be
worth spending a little more
for a package that’s all-inclu-
sive rather than saving money
on a package that requires you
to do a lot of work.
Make it special
Holiday hosts can person-
alize catered affairs by includ- ized with double pneumonia,
ing one signature dish or
drink. If drinks don’t seem
like a good fit, consider cre-
ating a dipping sauce, glaze,
or another homemade item.
This puts a personal touch on
the meal with minimal effort.
Metro Creative Connection
HOLIDAY MEMORIES
Listening for Santa brought years of joy
For approximately 20
years, our family tradition was
Christmas Eve at Grandma’s
and Grandpa’s house.
Thirteen grandchildren
gathered with their parents
after our 7 p.m. worship serv-
ice for food and fellowship.
Everyone anticipated our
annual visit from Santa! The
door bell and sleigh bells
would ring. Tots, toddlers and
teens knew who it was —
Uncle Eddie (Edward F.
Kloss), alias Santa Claus!
We lost Uncle Eddie seven
years ago.
We now have great-grand-
children, and although Santa
isn’t physically present for
them, his spirit is.
Belated Christmas celebration was the best
Christmas can come at any
time of the year.
The Christmases of 1968
and 1969 were not very happy
who was a sergeant in the
Army, had left on Dec. 17,
1968, for a tour of duty at a
remote Hawk missile site in
South Korea. It was the week
before Christmas and we were
the parents of two little boys
— Andy Pandy, as we called
him, was 5 1/2 months old,
and Ron-Ron was 16 months
old.
My husband’s last words to
me before leavng were, “Dor-
othy, it is an unwritten rule — same moon and stars.
if you serve one Christmas in
Korea, you should be home
for the following Christmas. I
will be home next Christmas.”
I held onto those words for all husband. It was a particularly
of 1969.
Right after he left for Ko-
rea, Ron-Ron was hospital-
and 1969 proved to be quite a
challenge for me without my
husband. I lived in Bethlehem
and worked part time as an
LPN at the Moravian King’s
Daughters’ Home. We did not
have the technology that is out
there today, and the only time
I heard from Ronnie were his
letters, which often arrived
weeks after he wrote them.
As the Christmas of 1969
approached, I had not heard
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF THE MORNING CALL
On Christmas Eve, if you
listen closely, you can hear
Uncle Eddie ringing those
from my husband in weeks,
but I held onto his last spoken
words to me.
I worked on Christmas Eve,
and after the ladies were all
settled in, I sat at the nurses’
station and started to cry. I had
to find out what was happen-
ing with Ronnie. I wrote a
note to then-President Richard
Nixon asking for his help. I
addressed it to the White
House, Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, D.C. On the way
home from work, I dropped it
in the mailbox on Market
Street. Looking up at the
starlit sky, my thoughts were
that Ronnie was looking at the
Well, Christmas and New
Year’s of 1969 came and went,
and still no letters from my
snowy January. At the end of
January 1970, I was on the
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bells and saying, “Ho-Ho-Ho,
Merry Christmas!”
Beverly J. Volz, Allentown
phone talking with my sister,
Anna Marie, and an operator
came on the phone line and
told me to hang up, that I had
an emergency call from the
Pentagon. At that moment, we
both feared the worst.
I was surprised to be
greeted and told that President
Nixon and his family wished
us a belated “happy holidays”
and that the Pentagon was
checking on Ronnie’s where-
abouts. They promised a call
back to me within 24 hours.
When that call came, I was
told that Ronnie had not been
able to return to the United
States because of all the
deaths in Vietnam. The Army
did not have the troops for
replacements. They gave me a
date and time the following
week that Ronnie would fly
into Maguire Air Force Base,
and he did.
Well, on that date, I felt so
very lucky that my husband
was returning home to us
safely. (We celebrated our
Golden Wedding Anniversary
this past Aug. 27.)
Christmas for me came in
early February 1970, when we
opened our gifts and rejoiced
that we were together again as
a family. Like I said, Christ-
mas can come any time of the
year!
Dorothy Ann (Varady)
Hersh, Bethlehem Township