Oh hey, more parties!

I should have known I'd be attending more than four holiday parties...At the last minute (meaning two or three days in advance) I was invited to the Dornod Institute Christmas party and my school's 11th grade New Year's concert.  So, here are some photos from parties number quattro and fimm:

The MC

Singing

Introducing a game

 A dance

 Sukhee and his daughter

 My 11th grader's theme was Maskarad (Masquerade).

 The MCs

 Lip-synching to an English song

 Mongol duet

 Hip-hop dance

 Hi-ya!

 Breaking boards

 That's an apple on a knife and he kicked it without slicing off his foot.  I was very impressed!

 Another Mongol duet

 Grandfather Winter

 The snow girls...

 ...They did a dance

 2012 & 2013

 Stilts!?  Again, I was super impressed.

 My CP Jagga wanted a picture before I left (had to leave early to get to my community ed class).

And these last few photos, while not a party, are from the 7th and 8th grade singing competitions I "judged" on Monday.  7th sang Jingle Bells, 8th sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  I forgot my camera (wah wah) for the 9th graders, but they sang Holly Jolly Christmas.   

Holiday Party Drei

Last night was the third installment of holiday parties.  All the C-town PCVs & VSO (and one honorary, might-as-well-be-a-native-speaker, Mongolian) came over to my place for a feast and gift exchange.  We ate until it hurt, laughed until we cried, and got nostalgic sharing holiday stories from home.  The menu included:

Veggies & Ranch
Cheese & Crackers
Deviled Eggs
Baked Ham
Baked Fish
Chicken with White Wine-Cream Sauce
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Curried Lentils
Italian Veggie-Pasta Salad
Fruit Salad
Pumpkin Pie
Cranberry & Carrot Cake
Chocolate Biscotti
Mongol Cake
Wassail, Coffee, Peppermint Green Tea, Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Yum.

And now, a few photos:

 My jujur decorated the stairwell for New Year's.

 Oh yes I did!  Yule Log!

 Happy holidays from C-Town!

After everyone else left, Koty and I watched "Little Women."  It was a nice way to wind down after a busy day of cooking, hosting and socializing.

Holiday Party Deux

This afternoon I have the privilege of attending the Association of Parents with Disabled Children's Shine Jil (New Year) party.  I absolutely love these ladies.  They work so hard for such a great cause.  And the kids, beyond adorable.

 Some of the kids waiting for things to get started.

 The MCs.

 Oyunsuren, the APDC director.

 Great singer!

 Then out came Santa/Grandfather.

 What did I say!?  ADORABLE!

 The first dance performance.  The clown was going around in the crowd entertaining the kids.

 During another song, this little girl wandered up on stage and instead of shooing her away, the older girl had her sing the rest of the song.

 Another dance.

 AMIRIGHT!?

 This guy was poppin' poses the whole afternoon.

 RUFFLES!

 Liz (VSO) and Sarah (PCV) made a friend.

 Lots of kids were in deels.

 CANDY!  Every kid got a gift bag.

 Loved her red boots.

 Then time for group shots...