Buddy and I shot 56% in the Christmas Party game.  Not good enough for anything.  We had our chances, but for a Xmas Party game we didn't get many gifts.

I might blog a few more hands from that night, but here's the one that really set the tone:

Playing against a C pair, none vul, in 4th:

Q43 / AT63 / K / AQT85

Buddy opened 1 Diamond.  I don't feel strongly about bidding 1 Heart or 2 Clubs here at matchpoints.  2 Clubs seems more of an IMPs bid, but maybe I'm delusional.  Anyway, I bid 2 Clubs.

Buddy rebid 2 Diamonds.  Now I bid 2 Hearts.  Buddy bid 3 Clubs and I had a problem.

3 Spades is probably the right bid here, but rather than agonize forever I decided to risk 3NT.  I figured the quicker I bid it the more it sounds like a halfway decent Spade stopper.  I have extras and 3NT should make if they don't cash 5 Spades tricks on the go.  If Buddy has Kx of Spades I'm wrongsiding it, but that's a pretty specific holding.

Lefty led the Jack of Spades (sigh) and Dummy tracked:

62 / KQ2 / AQT54 / J93

A typical Buddy opener.

RHO won the Ace of Spades and returned the 5.  You're up.

As a problem, with the setup I gave you, you might get this right.  At the table I never would.  I popped Queen and LHO won the K and fired back his last Spade.  RHO cashed her remaining Spades and I was one in the glue. -50 was worth 3 matchpoints on a 17 top.

I complimented the guy on his lead and wished the opps luck.  Bah humbug.

He had:

KJ7 / 9874 / J2 / K642

So with both red Jacks dropping doubleton you have 9 top tricks all day.  If I had responded 1 Heart instead of 2 Clubs or (less likely) if I had bid 3 Spades instead of 3NT we might have gotten to 4 Hearts, which is the par spot (though might also go down single dummy.)