Christmas on board can be very difficult. We are so use to being around our family and friends for the holidays, it can be very hard to be away this time of year. The best we can do is try to make this steel ship feel as much like home as we can. One thing that seemed to help was the entertainment department christmas party. A gathering of musicians, production, youth staff and the cast of dancers and singers for food, music and the White Elephant gift game.
The rules for the White Elephant gift game goes as follows: you can not spend more than $5 on the gift (although some went way over), Everyone grabs a random number out of a hat which accounts for every present under the tree, then you go in numeric order and you have a choice of either opening a gift under the tree OR stealing someone else's gift that they have opened. If the gift is stolen, then that person who’s gift was stolen has to open another present under the tree. A gift can not be stolen more than three times.
This game is very fun because you see what people really want and sometimes it can be very humorous. Some things include a wooden penis bottle opener, vibrating toothbrush, travel amenities kit and pickled olives. One thing that seemed to be the hottest item this year was a stuffed dog on a sled with a santa hat that moved his head up and down roboticly. The dancer who got the gift initially was so happy when she got it she sat down and hugged it and petted for most of the party. Then one of the cruise staff on her turn stole that dog away. The look on the dancers face was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen at a Christmas party ever. Later, another one of the dancers stole the dog and gave it back to her. Everyone gave out loud “awwws” because she was SO happy to get it back. However, at the VERY end of the game, another cruise staff stole it away and gave it to the cruise staff girl who stole it originally. The whole party erupted in rage! People were jumping and yelling and stamping there feet. I almost thought were were going to have a cat fight on our hands so I jumped in the air and pumped my fist yelling “Je-rry! Je-rry! Je-rry!” Eventually everything settled down but it really was a tragic end for that girl who went home with some Godiva chocolates (not a bad consultation prize really).
I ended up with a travel mug after getting a nice travel amenities kit stolen away from me. I then traded it for some nice art prints which I plan to put up in my room. The event was fun and it brought the department together. For a bunch of young people away from home for the holidays, I think it was as good as we could get it. Happy Holidays. -DB
