Since 1986, Boy Scout Troop 68 of Melrose has held a Christmas Party. The parties were first held in someone’s home but sometimes the parties were held in other venues, especially when the troop’s membership began to grow. A few parties were held at the city hall. This year’s party was held in a church facility and followed the troop’s last court of honor for the year. We invited the second year Webelos to attend the party.
Each Scout was asked to bring a snack for the party The troop provided the pizzas and the beverages. No one went home hungry from this activity. We had food left over.
The first activity was the gift exchange. All the gifts were placed in the middle of the tables. Scouts took turns shaking a pair of dice. If he shook doubles he picked a gift from the center of the table to place in front of him. Once each Scout or adult leader had received a gift the real fun began.
In the past we would open our gifts at this point to see what they were. This year, the Scouts voted to try something different. The gifts would not be opened until the end of the game. Participants had to guess what was in the packages and determine which package they wanted to try to receive.
The Scouts set a ten minute time for the game. Once the time began the dice were passed around the table. Each participant would shake the dice. If he shook doubles he could trade the gift in front of him for a gift in front of another Scout. Whatever gift was in front of you at the end of the ten minutes would be yours to take home. Most Scouts liked what they received but I did notice a couple trades going on after the game ended.
The Scouts moved onto various other games during the evening. Shortly after 9:00 pm we watched a movie. The Scouts choose Home Alone for their entertainment this year. There were a couple Scouts who had not seen this movie yet.
We wrapped up the festivities around 11:30 that evening. A winter storm was on the way and we wanted everyone to be home before it began. The Scouts had a lot of fun during this last troop activity for the year.
