Celebrate the season
Q: I'd love to throw a party during the holidays this year, but I am fresh out of creative ideas. Do you have any suggestions?
A: Boy, do I! One of the many perks of owning a store frequented by some of the most creative folks in the world is that I get to hear about the fabulous events my customers host or attend. Here are a few holiday party ideas I thought were sensational.
Private Homes Tour
This time of year, lots of charitable organizations hold tours of homes that are beautifully dressed for the holidays. Why not borrow their idea and pull together your own homes tour with family or friends? That's exactly what my friend Rozetta and her family decided to do about five years ago, and their family homes tour has turned into a favorite holiday tradition.
In years past, all the relatives descended on Rozetta's mom's home for Christmas dinner. While they loved gathering as a family, they wished they could also see each other's homes decorated for the holidays. So they figured out a way to do both.
Instead of getting together for one holiday meal at mom's, they now reserve an entire weekend, which they spend together visiting each other's homes. The whole clan caravans from home to home, making about nine stops during the two-day event. At each relative's home, they admire the Christmas finery, eat their fill of tasty appetizers and catch up on each other's news.
Toast the Tree
Create goodwill in your neighborhood by organizing a Toast the Tree progressive party. It's a great way to get to know your neighbors better and share the fun and responsibility of throwing a holiday bash.
First, pick a few neighbors to serve as host homes on the night of the party. Then, ask all the guests to fix appetizers or sweets, which they'll drop off at the host homes prior to the event. The idea is that the host homes shouldn't have to do any food prep, just open their home for the event, and guests will have a chance to sample each other's favorite holiday treats.
On the night of the party, guests grab their favorite drinks and stroll as a group from one host home to the next, stopping in to enjoy the smorgasbord of food, enjoy the spirits they've brought with them and, most importantly, each other's company. Before the group moves on to the next host home, everyone pauses to raise a glass to the host home's Christmas tree.
A Morning With Santa
My friend Blish's son turns 3 the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Since this hectic day is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Blish came up with an ingenious way to celebrate her son's big day and make her guests' lives easier.
Santa and Mrs. Clause will pay a visit to Blish's home for a morning birthday open house. Her son's guests and their families can stop by when it is convenient, enjoy snacks and have a chance to bend Santa's ear with their wish lists. As a party favor, Blish will take photos of the kids on Santa's lap and put them in darling keepsake frames, saving their parents from having to stand in long lines to visit Santa at the mall.
Shopping Sendoff
There's nothing like carolers to get you in the holiday spirit and a stout cup of coffee to give you the boost you need to take on your holiday gift list. That's what my friend Katie figured, so she treated her girlfriends to a holiday shopping sendoff. She hired a band of carolers, dressed in full Dickens regalia, to entertain guests while they enjoyed a spread of pastries.
Katie's not a coffee drinker, so she decided to leave the brewing to a pro, who brought in his own coffee cart, machines and supplies, and spent the morning mixing coffee creations for her guests. For those who wanted fuel of a different sort, she had a bartender serving "poinsettias" -- sparkling wine with a splash of cranberry juice. After enjoying a morning of good food and good friends, partygoers were ready to hit the stores.
