IT was no surprise party but it certainly ended in an unpleasant surprise.
John and Vi Travers were entertaining more than 30 guests at their Donlan Road home on December 16 last year when raw effluent started gushing from their downstairs toilet "like a geyser".
It flooded the Travers' kitchen and sunroom, putting an early end to their Christmas celebrations shortly after 8pm.
The cause of the problem - a root blockage - was identified soon afterwards.
But while the blockage was easily removed, the impact of the December 16 incident on the Travers' day-to-day lives continues.
The Travers were forced into alternate accommodation for almost three months, only returning to their Mollymook home the Saturday before last.
They are still waiting for a new kitchen and while they have a stove for cooking they have no sink for washing dishes.
They are currently forced to carry hot water from their bathroom to wash their dishes in a temporary sink at their back door.
Their fridge and freezer are sitting in the sunroom and a significant amount of work still needs to be carried out on the flooring in both rooms.
Mr Travers this week slammed council's handling of the matter.
He said while staff had initially agreed the blockage was a council problem, it had subsequently "divorced" itself from anything to do with the matter.
Mr Travers said he hadn't heard from council in more than two months when he contacted Shoalhaven City mayor Greg Watson asking that council accept responsibility.
Shortly afterwards he received a letter from council denying all responsibility and liability.
"What gets me is there has been obviously no support from them," Mr Travers told the Times.
He said his house would never have been flooded with raw effluent if the sewer line had been properly maintained.
He said three other homes in his street had experienced similar problems.
Mr Travers said that while insurance would cover the cost of alternate accommodation and some of the work undertaken around the home, he and his wife would be left out of pocket as a result of the incident.
Mrs Travers said the event had been "extremely disruptive", adding that after three moves in three months, "even the dog is confused".
She described their current living conditions as "primitive" and said it was lucky they had insurance, otherwise nothing would have been repaired.
A council spokesperson last week described the incident as "an unforseen event beyond council's control" caused by root infestation around the drop inlet to a manhole.
He said council had acted as quickly as possible after the sewage discharge was reported, a Shoalhaven Water operator arriving on-site shortly afterwards to clear the choke.
He said an external cleaning company had been engaged on December 18 at 8am to clean the kitchen and bathroom of the Donlan Road home and remove smells.
The spokesperson said council was co-operating full with the client's insurers regarding the costs associated with the event.
"It is council's understanding that everything that has been damaged is being replaced and council is not holding up this process and is keen to see the residents back in their property as soon as possible," he said.