text: Holidays are always happy times for all to enjoy family and friends for many years to come but this year proved to be one of extreme difficulties for all. The COVID virus has plagued the entire world and the way we interact with others has changed and we all had to make adjustments. Tom has expressed how depressed he has been since this whole thing started. In an effort to make things as normal as possible, Claire and I decided we would still have our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange party as usual. The invitations were sent to just a few select friends and family members because the gathering had to be kept small. Everyone invited had responded with more than enough recipes making sure there would be plenty of cookies for all. Since Tom was having such a hard time, I decided to make this year extra special for him. He is the secret guest of honor. Tom and Chris have been in a relationship for over five years. They had been discussing marriage but had never made anything official. Since Tom had been feeling really down, Chris felt this would be the perfect venue to pop that magic question. Chris had discussed the idea with Claire and I and we were ecstatic that he chose our annual cookie party as the perfect opportunity. The only catch was that we had to keep the secret from everyone so it would be a surprise to Tom. Claire got right into the holiday planning spirit and put on her romantic hat and changed a few of the decorations to make them more about marriage with Christmas colors. We had the traditional bells of holly, wreaths, and candle centerpieces all laid out with a beautiful gift box right in the middle of the table that was decorated with wedding bells in Christmas colors. The seating chart had everyone taking their respective places with Tom sitting right in front of the gift box. Cinnamon wax melts in all the warmers was the finishing touch. Now it was time for Claire and I to get into our outfits. Claire adorned herself in her red and white Mrs. Claus dress complete with the red and white hat. I put on my green elf suit and we were ready. We started the Christmas music to get everyone in the mood. The Christmas tree was lit with beautiful festive lights dancing all around it. Tinsel was glistening making everything sparkle. Now we had to wait for our guests to arrive. I dipped up two cups of spiked Eggnog for Claire and I to enjoy while we waited. Just then the doorbell rang. We both jumped up to greet our first guests. It was Julie, Pete, Jon, and Ted. Their arms were filled with tins with bows. We knew that these tins held their prized Christmas cookies for the exchange. We placed their tins on the gift table and seated them at the table according to the seating chart. The next guests to arrive was Sally, Will, Chaz, and Anita. They too had arms filled with many tins that took their place on the cookie table. That’s when the guest of honor arrived. Tom and Chris were wearing matching Santa Suits with Christmas bows of holly pined to them. It was so cute! Claire and I were busting at the seams with excitement. Everyone in attendance was going to witness the best event of the year and no one was aware it was going to be happening! Tom and Chris took their places at the table. Claire and I served up a light Cesar salad, tomato bisque soup, with Turkey, Chicken, and Vegetable wraps with peach punch to wash it all down with. We all enjoyed wonderful conversation as we gobbled down our light meal in a hurry to get to dessert. I couldn’t wait to drop several of those cookies in my mouth!! Claire and I cleared the table of all the dishes and cleaned up everything. We brought out the dessert plates and prepared for the next portion of our party. The excitement was bubbling forth inside me and I couldn’t take it anymore so I invited Chris into the kitchen for a brief conversation. Hey Chris! Can you help me get some of the napkins from the kitchen? Sure thing Layna! Off to the kitchen we trotted. Once there I whispered in the softest voice I could, “So how are you going to pop that question?” Oh Layna. You are always wanting to know everything before it happens. Girl just wait and see how it unfolds. Thanks a bunch for placing the gift box in front of Tom’s spot for me. That box is where everything begins. Did you tell that to Claire? I asked. Not at all. You know if she was aware of what she was doing that someone would know something by now! Chris laughed and began walking back towards the dining room. Come on girl, let’s get the rest of the festivities out of the way. We both chuckled and headed back to everyone in the dining room. Claire had already prepped the table for the cookie tasting and exchange. Everyone went around presenting their cookies and telling the story behind why they chose that recipe. Then came the big moment. It was Chris’ turn to present his cookies to all. He handed Claire his iPod player and told her to play selection 9. “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey began to play. Tom instantly lit up! This was his favorite Christmas song of all time because it was playing the first time Chris and he had met. That’s when I realized how romantic and beautiful this moment really was. I had to fight back the tears that were ready to stream down my face as I watched Chris begin to speak to Tom. Tom, my beloved. This year has been one of the hardest of times for you and I know that you did your best in dealing with the distance we have all had to endure. You have lost your job that you loved and thought you would never reinvent yourself but you did. You are now working from home in a comfortable space. We have kept to as normal as a life as possible with all the things going on with COVID. When you came down with the virus, I thought I would lose you. But you told me that there was nothing that could take you away from me and you eventually returned home from the hospital. Things seemed to be doing well and that’s when my job took a turn for the worst and I had to be furloughed for six weeks. You thought we were going to have to sell our home but we made it through that. Then the worst of all, we lost our beloved dog Bleu. We both cried for days and nothing in the house seemed the same. But a few days ago I came home with another teacup mini whom you promptly named Fancy because she pranced all around the house! In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, I have another gift for you. Please, Tom, open the gift box sitting in front of you. Tom, who was now in tears, took the lid of the beautifully arrayed gift box and immediately screamed, “Oh My God, Chris!! I Love you!!” and he jumped right out of his seat and ran and hugged Chris. We were all sitting around looking at them in amazement but did not know what was in the box. Claire said, “Oh Tom! You must let us see what is in the box!!” Tom, shouted, “Oh! I completely forgot!!” We all laughed as Tom went back to the table and took his seat. He then pulled out what was inside the box. It was a large cookie shaped in the form of two bells with lots of glitter and glam with a blue ribbon tied around it. On one end of the ribbon was a ring tied to it and on the other end of the ribbon was a note pasted to it that said, “Tom, will you marry me?” We all cried together as Tom told Chris that he would marry him. It was the most romantic experience I had the pleasure of being a part of. We danced and sang for the rest of the night. Tom and Chris were very happy and it melted the hearts of all. At the end of the night, we bid each of our guest a blessing with their own personal tins of Christmas Cookies and the joy of knowing they witnessed the miracle Christmas joy can bring even during a pandemic.