I’m a creature of habit, I find something I love and I stick with it. That said, certain occasions scream (measured) experimentation and for me, New Years Eve is one of them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not conservative with my look (at least I don’t think I am), but I’m a look-loyalist–I think I just made that up. Here are some of the things I’m thinking about trying this New Years Eve that are either new or a different flavor of something that is already tried-and-true.
Tag: parties
Celebrating the Holidays at Work
Female Santa Claus Presenting In Business Meeting
courtesy of franky242 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Celebrating the holiday season in a professional environment can get complicated. Not everyone does it the same way and nor do they all have the same financial circumstances. Sometimes in these situations the natural instinct is to procrastinate, further limiting the options, so what is ultimately available is either unappealing or cost prohibitive. Here’s some good news–with a bit of creativity, it’s still possible to get your festive hat on with colleagues in the spirit of inclusiveness. Also, the term “Holiday” can be interchangeable with “Winter” or “New Year” if you’d like to make it a bit more generic.
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Holiday Parties: Getting In On The Food Deconstruction Trend
Gingerbread House Against A Background Of Christmas Tree Lights, courtesy of digidreamgrafix / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Looking at the second half of November always makes me excited for the upcoming holiday season. In our family we celebrate Thanksgiving, Chanukah and Christmas but no matter what celebrations you may have in store, food is usually the common denominator we all share.
I really enjoy food deconstruction–taking well-known food concepts and constructs and presenting them in new, delightful and, of course, delicious ways–especially when you want to surprise your guests. I’m not a chef but I love to entertain and I love to cook and when there is a trend I like to mull it over and see if it’s right for me (I do the same thing with fashion–not every fad works for my shape and frame). Usually that means starting slowly, taking a toe-in-the-water approach. Here are the ways I tried to tackle the deconstructed food trend this year that will likely end up on my table this holiday season.
Weekend Recreation: Ready, Set, Swap…
(A close-up of my haul from the swap)
Ok, so I’ll admit it, I’d never done it before so I was nervous. They say the first time is always the hardest and you just have to jump in head first. Switching it up and gaining exposure to something different is important, right?!? Well after about a month of planning, today was the day. It was going to happen…
I’m speaking, of course, of a Fashion Swap.
I Heart Psychics
I believe in psychics and mediums. Feel free to judge, roll your eyes, laugh or anything else you feel may be necessary. I’ve encountered all that and worse. A while back I was taught not to hide or be ashamed of the things I truly believe in, and this is one of those things. I also understand that it is not for everyone, and I have no judgement or scorn for those who feel differently.
Summer Thank You Gifts: Perfect Pairs
I’m going to a few summer parties and I can’t wait. It’s alway such a blast to party in the warm weather and enjoy some fun in the sun, especially since now my kids don’t need constant supervision. I always like to bring something for my hosts that contribute to the meal, but what about hosts that tell you: “just bring yourselves.” That never seems right, right? Right.
IMHO it’s always important to express thanks with gratitude for an invitation with a gesture. I also want to make sure that what I share with my recipients aren’t run-of-the-mill. These ideas are gift pairings that are fine alone, but are truly better together
Looking Back: Birthday Celebrations For My Son
Spring is almost here and in my house, that means it’s almost time for a birthday party…for a little boy–my youngest, no less. Every year he gets excited about six weeks beforehand and starts dropping not-very-subtle hints about what he wants for his birthday, and where he wants his party. This year he is turning the big 1-0 and he’s all about computers and baseball–if you can’t catch it or code it, it’s impossible to get much of his attention for very long. He wants a robotics and game design party–yes, this exists–but maybe because it’s a landmark year (ten feels special and monumental to me) this got me thinking about all the different parties we’ve had over the years (don’t worry, I’ve omitted any duplications).
Oscar Party Ideas: Award Show Inspiration
I love award show season…LOVE IT!
I watch the Pre-shows, the red carpets, the awards shows themselves, I cry, laugh, eye-roll and yell at the TV (in the same way men do during football season) at the acceptance speeches and winner disclosures and I absolutely watch the fashion wrap-ups. Now it’s not every esoteric one. I limit it to the Golden Globes, The SAG Awards, The Grammys, The Emmys, The Oscars and, of course, The Tonys. The Grande Dame of all of these–I actually have two but Grande Dames but not everyone agrees with me, major props if you can guess my #2–is The Oscars.
Holiday: I Want To Know
I’m really curious, what jazzes you about the holidays–be honest, I won’t rat you out–plus it will help me make sure I’m posting things that are of interest to you, especially as we get into the thick of the holiday season. Â Thanks so much in advance for your time. ~GW.
Related Links:
All Holiday Posts
All Christmas Posts
All Chanukah Posts
Holiday Hostess Gifts
Image courtesy of Ron Bird / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Despite my passion for gift-giving and shopping (it’s kind of the whole premise for this blog) when it comes to the holidays, hosting and feeding my family and friends takes the cake–literally and figuatively. I love preparing the menu, decorating our house with my husband and kids–well, he watches and directs while we decorate but it’s still really fun–finding a fun activity for guests to break the ice and then pulling it all together. That said, I also visiting family and friends: our annual tradition of going to my aunt’s for Christmas Day, celebrating New Years Eve with my husband at “our” restaurant where we had our wedding reception, watching all the kids and grown-up men get sweaty and hungry playing soccer (or maybe it’s football) on Thanksgiving at my in-law’s.
Whether it’s an established tradition or a new invitation that finds you celebrating in someone else’s home, it’s customary to bring a token of thanks. I’ve written about hostess gifts before, and my “rules of the road” (a bunch of them will work for the holidays too so feel free to check them out again, particularly this one and this one) but these gift ideas focus on unexpected and holiday specific ideas to warm the hearts and homes of your hosts.
The Gifting Whisperer 