On the 22nd of December in 2008, Madam Magdalene Lu hosted a Christmas dinner party for the NCOs and Officers of 10th KL. The dress code for the dinner was formal, so all the guys looked dashing and the girls looked gorgeous. A few people failed to dress appropriately, but they received no punishment beyond their own embarrassment and a few joking comments. Joseph Wong, a former member of 10th KL who lived just a few houses away from Madam Mag, arrived in what looked like his pajamas, but that was okay since he’s always been a goof anyway.

The party began with some carols and Christmas songs. After that, the attendees were broken into two groups to play a follow-the-leader dance game. Despite the fact that what followed could have been better described as a synchronized seizure instead of a dance, the game was extremely fun and we all had a good time. We also played Taboo, which was fun when we played it with the standard two teams until someone noticed that Staff Sergeant Ian Cheah possessed an almost telepathic ability to guess what word I had. When this discovery was brought up, the teams were changed so that everyone else in the party was on one team and my brother was on the other, with me describing the words on the cards. He still won.

The games ended when dinner was ready. Dinner was a delicious outdoor catered buffet, with all sorts of tasty foods to choose from, including lamb, corn-on-the-cob, chicken, fruits and vegetables. When the drinks had been drunk and the food and fellowship had been had, we proceeded back indoors to say our goodbyes to Madam Elsie and her family because they would be emigrating to Australia very soon and this would be the last chance for many of us to see them before they left. We prayed for their wellbeing and told Madam Elsie how much we appreciated her contributions to 10th KL.

After that, we moved on to one of the main events of the night: the gift exchange. When we were informed about the party, each NCO had been told to buy and bring a present to the party. I had bought a bunch of candies. At the party, our presents were numbered. The numbers were written on pieces of paper and the papers were mixed together. Each person reached in and took a number, and the present with their number on it was theirs. I received a plunger and a toilet brush, courtesy of Staff Sergeant Eunice. After the gift exchange we also received some presents from the Officers. I got a “Cutie Zebra” eye mask.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After taking pictures with each other in various groups and poses, people started going home.

The 2008 NCO Christmas party was great fun for everyone involved. I’m looking forward to the next time we can get together and celebrate Christmas with my fellow 10th KL NCOs, and hopefully this year there will be a whole lot more attendees.