Pat Murphy

Pat Murphy — Vista, CA …Christmas Day is almost here and one of the ways you can tell this in the City of Vista is the annual Christmas Party held by the Vista Historical Society (VHS). The event is free to the public and provides delicious finger foods, entertainment, a Santa Claus, and lots of Christmas Spirit.

In years past this event was billed as a Christmas Tea but there was never any tea. Hot coffee, tropical punch and water were the only drinks to be had. This year the Vista Historical Society held its annual “Christmas Party” on Sunday, December 8, at the Gloria E. McClellan Adult Activity & Resource Center in Brengle Park.

Photos by Pat Murphy

I always enjoy this get together because I am able to see some very nice people that I only run into occasionally. People like Norm Halus, Pat Richardson, and Michael Cosh to name a few. My good buddy, Sgt. Major Parker and his lovely wife Ann shared a table with us near the buffet tables. We were also joined by John and Carol Lee (our friends from the Elks Lodge in Vista).

The croissant sandwiches were fresh, the deviled eggs were seasoned just right, and the tiny quiche cakes were very flaky and tasty. Crisp Veggie platters with cucumber and ranch dips rounded off the offering. But wait… there were also the desserts! All kinds of cookies, fudge, and cupcakes sat on one long table. The cupcakes came from Little Cakes Cupcake Kitchen. I fell in love with GNI Pancakes & Bacon cupcakes. I mistook the bacon for chocolate slices but was pleasantly surprised at the “Gluten Not Included” Maple cake with real bacon inside that was topped with maple buttercream and a sprinkling of delectable sugared bacon.

There are always raffle prizes and this year was no different except there were only 4 prizes instead of the usual 8 to 10. Our table companions, John and Carol were the first to win. Jo Fischer won the next two raffle prizes and Mimi Wong Titus won the last. You had to buy a ticket to win. Mimi, who is a member of the Senior Citizen Affairs Committee for the City of Vista, asked me to encourage our senior readers to take advantage of the classes offered at the Gloria E. McClellan Adult Activity & Resource Center. I’ve included the link below.

The entertainment this year was the St. Cecila Children’s Choir from St. Thomas More Church in Oceanside. They sang many of the familiar Christmas carols and looking around the room I saw that many people were mouthing the words along with the group. Then they announced a song I hadn’t heard of and a young boy who appeared to be 5 or 6 shouted “Yea!” He took center stage and performed a solo rendition of “Happy Birthday Jesus”. The audience loved him especially when the they applauded and he responded with a fist wave and sounded out, “Ha!”.

This was a fun event and I want to thank the hard working board members of the Vista Historical Society for organizing and bringing this Christmas spirit to Vista year after year. I wish them and all my readers a very Merry Christmas!

https://www.facebook.com/VistaHistoricalSociety/
https://www.cityofvista.com/residents/senior-services
https://www.littlecakeskitchen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/St-Cecilia-Childrens-Choir-258152297680140/