Hogmanay bonfire

So great to have this tradition with my brother :) As you can see, we had a great time with our family and friends! Click picture for more.

So great to have this tradition with my brother 🙂 As you can see, we had a great time with our family and friends! Click picture for more.

The Hogmanay tradition is Scotch – it’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s marked by fire, fireworks, parties, shenanigans, family and friends. Having a bonfire at Bellows is a really great way to let the kids roam with all kinds of balls to play catch as the grownups catch up with each other while grilling up various meats (no veggies last night – oops!) and participating in silly games that came to mind (my mind, that is!). The guys competed for a “King of the Camp” lei I brought, cooked “Hawaiian haggis” over the fire (SPAM rocks – “Shockingly good” as Doug says!), and Portuguese sausage. It was so much fun I didn’t want to wash the smell of fire out of my hair!

Here’s my invite, just in case I need some ideas for next year ;0 :

Hey gang!
Coordinates for our bonfire adventure: (21.375426, -157.707925)

4 ft high fire allowed!

We have:

60 lbs of wood

two coconuts to crack open (insides undetermined so I have can of coconut milk as well)

lots of SPAM and Portuguese sausage

some munchies

two boxes of wine – white and red

water jug

machete (never host a party without one)

football, soccer balls

On site:

mini mart

gas station (?)

bathrooms

table

fire pit

Please bring:

your best beast on a stick (there will be a competition)

something to drink out of (boot? hat?)

musical instrument

rain shelter if you have one and no big deal to set up

misc teenage boys (very helpful for many purposes, and they tend to have a lot of fun chopping up wood)

secret service agent

FAQs:

Can we get on base if we are not military?

– Yes, please send driver’s lic #, make/model of car, full name and I will put you on list.

Do we have to stay overnight?

– No 🙂

Do we have to pee in the woods?
– No, although the bathroom is further away this year so there will be races to the bathroom because it sounds fun for another party game ;0

Can you actually do any damage with a marshmallow snowball?
– Yes, if several are wadded up hard enough and a man throws it at his wife. (I have personal experience.)

Are headlamps an accessory?

– Yes, certainly. I say one dresses up any outfit, but my sister-in-law might have an alternative viewpoint.

Can we bring friends?

– Yes, we can have up to 15 tents and 75 friends!

2 Comments

  1. Gramma 1 January, 2011

    I have just finished enjoying every picture and every annotation, laughing, talking to myself, saying “how much fun it was”, and “that’s so true”, etc. It was an amazing evening – one that wouldn’t exist without Alli, and without all the “players” who willingly took part. So many people were blended from family to friends, many of whom had never before met each other. I know what it is to be WEALTHY, and it’s not measured by a 401K or any other form of finance. It’s measured by love of one another, and it has been overflowing. Thank you to everyone, and here’s to expecting another opportunity to enjoy it.

  2. Virginia 4 January, 2011

    Fun!!!

    I’m now curious about SPAM. Can you recommend any recipes? I’ve recently taken to using the George Foreman grill as a pannini press — maybe that would work?

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