I only throw one party a year, so you better believe I shoot the works and make it memorable. In my younger days I really loved entertaining and would throw dinner parties and costume parties several time a year. These days I simply don’t have the time, money, or energy to plan out so many parties, what with work and all. So I focus all my energies on one big bonfire blow-out bash every year, which is massive (and massively fun!) The party always happens the weekend before Christmas, so it is nice and cool out and we can enjoy the fire. This is also my choice because heating up a cold house with so many people coming and going is a problem. Last year it rained and we couldn’t start a fire and I thought the stress of overuse might break my old furnace! This year the furnace will stay off, and people can come and go as they please without affecting the HVAC system. The bonfire is made from old wooden fence posts, and is so big it works for heating up the entire backyard! Sometimes I wish I had a fireplace in my house, instead of this very old, very tired, and very weak natural gas furnace. There is something about a roaring fire that is so much better at heating up your old, tired bones than any man-made heater could ever be. I don’t have a fireplace, unfortunately, nor the means to get one installed, so for the time being I will content myself with the bonfire.