The Southgate Christmas Party
Hi, I’m Rachel! I was briefly introduced in the last weblog, but this is my first time starting one off. Now, as many of you know, here at Southgate Coins, we celebrate the holiday season not only with our individual families, but with our collective “Southgate family” as well. It was this past Saturday, December 22, that we held this said celebration, which included gift-giving and a fancy Christmas dinner at one of our favorite places. The day started off normal enough, as we were busy with customers and then pulled the closed signs at the turn of three o’clock.
As soon as we closed the shop, Santa’s elves went to work! Amy distracted Rusty and Marie in the back while Maya and I prepared to give them our gift (a new store rug!).When the coast was clear, I quickly rolled up the old rug by our front door while Maya high-tailed it to her car (in high heels), grabbed the new rug, and ran back into the store undetected. We both set up the new rug and topped it off with a humongous red bow, compliments of Maya’s handiwork. The Goes didn’t suspect a thing! Our little clan then proceeded to our “gift-reception” area where each employee was presented with a mound of gifts. Now, how many bosses do you know that take the time to shop for special gifts for each individual employee? Well, here at Southgate Coins, Rusty and Marie go over-the-top with that holiday cheer that makes going home and unwrapping gifts pale in comparison. It is definitely a treat to have such compassionate bosses!
After each staff member received their individual gifts, which included DVDs, CDs, stuffed animals, and much more, it was time to present Rusty and Marie with our gift to them. We led them out to the front room and boy, were they surprised! Although no little piece of fabric could even begin to thank the Goes for all they have done for us, they seemed to love our gift. As soon as the snowy season leaves us, we will set the new rug up in the front for all of our fabulous customers to walk on. Be sure to look for it next time you visit the shop!
Thanks, Rachel!
Well, as our newest employee mentioned, we had a wonderful time giving and receiving the special gifts for this oh-so-special occasion. Now… on to the most important part: the food!
About three weeks before the festive occasion, Amy made reservations at a particularly nice restaurant here in Reno called Famous Murphy’s. So, as we always do when going out to eat, we all got in our respective cars, and caravanned north up Virginia Street to our delicious destination. Upon arrival, we all took pictures outside the restaurant while the people across the street watched curiously. We entered Famous Murphy’s a little bit early (according to the hostess, that is) so we all went down stairs to wait in the bar area and glimpse at the menu before we were seated upstairs in the restaurant. We got our seats, smack-dab in the middle of the dining room, and of course before the waitress was even able to ask what we were drinking, we got in about ten pictures of the five of us at our table. We all placed our orders for drinks, and also for our appetizers: we had a total of two Caesar salads, one house salad, and two steaming hot cups of New England Clam Chowder. (That was mine and Amy’s picks, of course!) Now, as you may have noticed from previous weblogs, when it comes to the main course, we are very much steak-and-potatoes type of people, so the majority of the orders reflected our preference. The only one that differed from it was little Miss Rachel, who instead ordered broiled salmon, which looked just as scrumptious.
When the food arrived, we had our third (or fourth?) round of pictures, this time showing off our full, sizzling plates. We ate and conversed about such things as the various musical American Idols from the reality show, and also about infamous customers that Rusty and Marie had had over the years. We all were able to get completely stuffed beyond our expectations, and none of us even had any room left for dessert! As any special occasion out-on-the-town goes, we all had to take the final round of pictures in front of the sputtering fireplace, as well as in the lobby of the restaurant. We all got to say our goodbyes and thank yous one last time before we bundled up and headed back to our cars to make the long drive home for the night.
The party continued this Christmas Eve day as Rachel walks in with four huge Christmas themed mugs filled to the top with yummy candy for all of us to enjoy...we are so spoiled this season, I can't stand it!
Being the first Christmas for Rachel and I (Maya), it was definitely an outing to remember. Neither of us expected that we would be so pampered in gifts and good eats this holiday season, as well as being able to have all the pictures to prove it to our envious relatives back home. Special thanks to the Goes for such a wonderful Christmas here at the store, and also to all of our terrific customers that keep us coming back each day for more joyous times.
I hope everyone out there is having a fantastic holiday season, regardless of what they celebrate, and that we are each able to find time enough to ourselves to be at peace and enjoy the little joys in life.
Merry Christmas from everyone here at Southgate Coins, and I hope that we see each of you not only in 2008, but in many years to come.
-Maya and Rachel