Some of Santa’s little helpers were busy here in Western New York even before Thanksgiving, on the day when we happened to have our first snow of the season.

They had gathered to spend a Sunday afternoon prepping dozens of pieces of sparkling glass to be used as prizes at the upcoming holiday party for the members of the Depression Glass Club of Greater Rochester.

What’s more, it’s obvious these elves are all committed collectors of vintage glassware.

Apparently, most of them have been assigned to the glass club party detail for years, so they know how to operate among the “organized chaos” of the event, which was a revelation for the rookies.

First, furniture has to be moved and tables set up in the hosting helpers’ home.  Then the larger elves lug in cartons and cartons of glassware that has been collected since the club’s last holiday party.

Once the glassware is unpacked and spread out on the tables, the helpers (who are seeing the pieces for the first time) spend some time oohing and ahhing over the beautiful choices, which have already been washed and dried by the chief elf so they glisten.

The expert elves then assess the prizes and divide them into everyday Depression Glass (which will be the prizes for the steal-a-gift game) and Elegant glassware (which is the better glass that has to be earned in bingo).

The experts deliberate to decide which is the very best piece of glass, and that one is designated as the prize for the winner of the hardest round of bingo—cover-all—which is one of the highlights among the more competitive partygoers.

Another lovely piece is set aside for the winner of a special drawing.  Club members and party guests can donate non-perishables for a local food cupboard, and they receive a ticket for each item contributed.  The winner of this drawing then goes home with a pretty piece filled with chocolate, which is as much of an enticement for this crowd as the glassware.

Back at the wrap party, the rest of team gets to work fitting the pieces of glass to the dozens and dozens of small boxes that the elves have stockpiled over the year, which is easy to do when they themselves frequently shop on eBay and have things—like glassware—sent to them.

Stockpiling boxes is easy, but finding enough in just the right sizes and shapes for the candlesticks, pitchers, vases, and other glass prizes is a real challenge.

Once swathed again in packing paper, and then boxed securely, each individual prize has to be beautifully wrapped in festive paper and properly identified: bows for the bingo prizes and curly ribbons for the steal-a-gift game—or was it bows for the stealing game and ribbons for the bingo prizes?

Then the bedecked presents are boxed up into the cartons again and hauled away and temporarily stored until the big party, which happens to be this Friday, Dec. 7.

Once the scene has been cleared—and some order has been restored to the host helpers’ home, which happens to have several amazing collections of glassware fit for display at The Collectors museum—the elves line up for a buffet of snacks that’s enough to fuel them back to the North Pole.

With 14 or so glass-loving elves together, the conversation naturally revolved around the prizes and the holiday party and the Depression Glass Club’s programs for next year.  The talk also went back to the food a time or two since collectors love their refreshments almost as much as their collections—almost.

For members and guests of the Depression Glass Club holiday party, winning one of these prizes might be the inspiration for a new collection.

Come Friday, the festivities will begin with a buffet of heavy hors d’ouvreurs and desserts, followed by the steal-a-gift game that gets everyone up and moving and laughing at whose stealing from whom.

Then we’ll get down to the bingo, which includes a half-dozen or more variations, and some serious prize winning—and maybe a little envy and a few reasons to start a new collection or two.

Here’s to the beginning of the holiday season and all the ways our collections help us celebrate.

Patti
The Committed Collector

     If your collections are a part of your holiday traditions, please leave a comment.  We’d love to hear how your treasures fit into your celebrations.

 

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