Walking into the apartment at Huntley High School, instantly you are hit with the mouth-watering smells of piles upon piles of freshly baked goodies, fondue, meatballs, and smoked weenies. You are hearing the fridge open and shut, open and shut again and again getting ready for the party just about to start.

Every year for the past 8 years, Deb Udelhofen and the Life Skills teachers have helped students throw holiday parties in order to learn what they need to do when they have guests over.

“We put up decorations and organized [the apartment],” said student Meagan Cavanaugh.

Not only did they make the apartment look nice, they made an abundance of food as well. Students decided what ingredients they needed, made directions for the recipes, and then went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

Students have been cooking for the past four weeks making and freezing baked goods.

“We’ve pulled [the party] off with only [cooking in] a microwave,” said Udelhofen commenting on before the program had an apartment to cook in.

In the background was a delightful arrangement of various holiday songs to set the mood for the party. Students were also required to dress up in fancier clothes than they do during a regular school week.

One of the main purposes of this party is to get the students to learn to socialize more and learn how to throw a party for their friends and people they do not even know.

“We invited a lot of the teachers, like almost the entire school,” said student Engel Reyes.

The invitations were handmade  to practice handwriting. The invitations displayed various types of snowmen and other christmas drawings.

As soon as the clock struck 10 a.m., students were off to work their various jobs, like greeters and minglers, and to refill punch and help with the food.

“My favorite part is when the kids get to interact with the teachers that they don’t normally see,” said Udelhofen.