Unit 3 Progressive Potluck Holiday Dinner
Unit 3 – Progressive Holiday Dinner
Thirty-nine residents of Unit 3 celebrated the holiday season with a Progressive Potluck Holiday Dinner Party on Thursday, December 13. The evening began with appetizers at the home of Cristina and Kurt Junge, followed by salads at the home of Linda Babcock. Homeowners then drew slips of paper from a basket to determine which of two homes they would go to for the main course; either the home of Alice and Cary Haywood or Barb and Bob Spano. Afterwards the entire group met at the home of Maureen and Richard Wilson for dessert and cordials.
Everyone had a wonderful time greeting old neighbors and meeting new ones.
As a result, the men agreed to start a weekly happy hour beginning January 7 and the women will begin a monthly breakfast starting January 14.
Unit 51 holiday recap
Janet Miazga
Of course, Unit 51 could not let the holiday season go by without our annual party. Sixty-two of our residents enjoyed a very special evening in the Chianti Room on December 14. We were very pleased with the turnout; it was a good sized group and, as always, Doug Christensen did a wonderful job leading us all in singing merry carols before dinner; that is a tradition loved by all! Our first-ever live entertainment was a big hit! Forever Young, Mike and Phil, were a very engaging duo playing music, singing and getting us all out on the dance floor. The decorating was top notch thanks to our social committee, dinner entrees were delicious and, as always, the catering staff did an excellent job. Another great event with friends and neighbors!
Unit 51 Ladies Luncheon
Janet Miazga
We’ve turned the calendar and continued right on with our monthly Ladies’ Luncheons in 2019. January 10 found 17 of us enjoying the lovely setting of the new Olive Garden on Glendale Avenue, chosen by our host, Dee Domingo. Bevy Hogan decorated the tables with pretty flowers and candles, and we all welcomed Bevy’s visiting friend from Montana, JoAnne. With the Tanger Outlets right next door, many gals went shopping after lunch, looking for those post-Christmas specials. As always, we had a great time visiting with our “neighbor girlfriends,” talking about our holiday events and sharing upcoming travel plans; we expect to continue to do so for many more luncheons to come!
Unit 51 pajama donations
Karen Bush
A grand total of 108 pairs of children’s pajamas and books were donated to the local chapter of The Pajama Program in December. It has become a tradition in Unit 51 to collect and donate pajamas around the holidays. It began in 2013 and just keeps getting more successful each year, with this last donation being the largest yet. Unit 51 has been so generous some neighbors even include stuffed animals and socks with their pajamas and books to make their donation extra special for the kids. Lucia Wheele, Arizona Chapter President, was thrilled to see our donation when she arrived for pick up. The pajamas we donate go to local foster care facilities, group homes and shelters where children are being received daily. The pajamas and books we send to these children help them feel loved and comforted like a goodnight hug, something they really need! Thank you, Unit 51, for sharing your love and making a difference in the lives of these very special children!
Unit 53 Gift Exchange
Sandy Stephens
Tim and Susan Donlan’s White Elephant Gift Exchange Happy Hour was a huge hit with their Unit 53 neighbor friends Saturday, January 5. There were at best count 48 who attended an evening of fun and laughter and more good food than the group could eat. The hit of the night was the pink flamingo bowl Tim wanted someone to take, with no luck. Their furry resident greeter Gracie mingled throughout the festivities.
Unit 53 cookie exchange
Sandy Stephens
Sandy Stephens was lucky enough to have 20 gals join in on her Unit 53 third annual Cookie Get-together. Carol Sanders played a few Christmas carols on the piano for background entertainment. Spiced apple cider is always a hit around the Christmas holidays along with cookies, a Christmas tradition, but what the Unit 53 gals truly enjoyed was the special comradery that they share with each other.
Unit 62B December activities
December was a banner month for Unit 62B activities!
The kindness and generosity shown by our Unit 62B residents towards adopting Luke Air Force families was amazing. We received over $2,200; these funds helped ensure that the vetted Luke families enjoyed a wonderful holiday. A huge thanks to all residents who contributed to this worthy cause.
Merriment and good cheer were abundant at the Ladies Holiday Cocktail Party and the Men’s Beer, Brats and Burgers gatherings. It was great to see so many new faces and the fellowship and comradery made for a festive atmosphere.
The Holiday Lights and Potluck committee put together an incredibly successful event. We began with 27 carts and six cars (might be a record for PebbleCreek!), then along the way some “tag-alongs” joined the end of the caravan! More than 70 residents enjoyed the evening; a sincere thanks and “job well done” to the Holiday Lights committee for their efforts in providing an additional holiday event for our Unit 62B residents to enjoy. We will certainly repeat next year!
It’s a wonderful life in 62B! We are looking forward to more 2019 Unit events!
Unit 58 new year gathering
Susan Jackson
Unit 58 started the new year with a cocktail and appetizer Happy Hour party held at the home of Jon and Susan Jackson. Approximately 40 people enjoyed an evening of good food and lively conversation.
Unit 58 women’s brunch
Rose Mansell hosted the Unit 58 women’s brunch on December 20 at Eagle’s Nest Restaurant. Good food, stimulating conversation and darling Christmas corsages as door prizes, capped off a fun morning for the Unit 58 ladies gathering.
Unit 62A’s December highlights
Barb Downey
The social committee of Unit 62A planned a very fun and festive December with 13 activities on the monthly calendar! No wonder we have a reputation of being a fun and super active neighborhood!
We started off the month of December at the Phoenix Symphony Hall for the Holiday Pops Concert. What a wonderful way to get in the spirit for the upcoming holidays! Giving back is always high on our agenda, so we next went to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Surprise where we spend the first Wednesday of each month sorting food donations or boxing and bagging food for pick up.
A new event for us was a Favorite Things Party, hosted at the home of Sharon Pucelik and organized by Barb Downey. The ladies each brought two items to share and played a game that taught us a lot about each other. Many mutual “favorites” were discovered as we enjoyed a fun and festive, laugh filled, evening together and each went home with two new favorite items and lots of fun memories.
In addition to our usual Hand and Foot games, Ladies Lunch and Men’s Breakfast, the “We Are Sheridan” Unit 62A group, assembled 16 golf carts and Bruce and Lynn Banks led us on a tour of all the fabulous Christmas lights within PebbleCreek! Such a fun evening caravanning together and enjoying all the beautiful displays in our community! When the light tour was over, we warmed up at the home of Janelle and Gary Watts and enjoyed our time together with wonderful cookies and lively libations!
Speaking of lights, one week we went out to dinner together and then drove through the Zoom Town Lights at the ISM Raceway, followed by a Phoenix Zoo Lights outing the following week! We still didn’t have enough of lights, so we attended the Las Noches De Las Luminarias at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. Such a beautiful, balmy evening, enjoying lots of music and some new digital light displays that were so innovative and mesmerizing!
Thanks to our social committee, our neighborhood joined together to display our own luminaries to light up Sheridan Street! Each evening we put them out from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and often spent time socializing on the street as we enjoyed the luminaries.
Our monthly Happy Hour was at the home of Debbie and Don Clinkinbeard and besides the wonderful appetizers and desserts brought by all who attended, we also enjoyed a very fun and rambunctious White Elephant gift exchange. And yes, there really was a cute white elephant that was stolen a few times.
We closed out the month with a table at the Pub Trivia Night and though we didn’t win any of the games, we were extremely proud of our great efforts and group collaboration!