We are now 23 days away from the New Years Eve Open House. I’ve decided to start the event at 6:00 pm – I have a lot of friends who want to stop by, but also want to go downtown for the annual Pinecone Drop at 10:00. This way I can have people meandering in and out with the ones who really want to celebrate at midnight, coming by around 10:00 pm.
Since I promised to talk more about the decorations and how I do them here we go. The large ice sculpture sounds much harder than it really is, but you will need a large freezer. We happen to have an upright that I put all my food in and then a chest that I plug in when needed. It’s time to plug in old Betsy and make a couple of ice sculptures. First look for boxes that are the size and shape you’d like to have for the base. It’s pretty easy and can be as simple as a wine box, a long flower box (check with local florists for this one) or any box will work. Next step is to line the box with a garbage bag. The smaller the box, the smaller the bag, because every crease in that bag will show in the ice. I usually like to find the “front” of the sculpture and tape everything around so the back side is the one that shows the imperfections. I also like to add a little decorations to my ice blocks, so what I’ll do is get a slightly smaller box, wrap the outside in plastic wrap, spray with cooking oil and once again tape a garbage bag so the fronts line up and place the smaller box inside the larger box. Next step is to add the water to the inside box first – only filling it about 1/3 of the way and then the fill the outer box with a strand of outdoor lights and some pine boughs, making sure I keep the plug coming out the backside of my block. Keep filling like this until it’s full and set it inside your freezer. It’s going to weigh a ton, so get help. Plan about a week for the water to freeze completely and if the days and nights are below freezing find a shady place and you can keep it outside covered with a tarp.
Once my base is done I’ve decided this year to place a large white candle on each bases. This adds to my fire and ice concept and with the lights in the base will be a nice welcome for my guests. You can also use food coloring to tint the ice, however it tends to get a tad “watered down” and not very vibrant – use latex paint and you’ll get great color, just make sure you’ve got a container that will keep it from melting into the ground. Now that I’ve got my outside decorations dialed in, next week we’ll work on how to bring fire and ice indoors!
Debbi
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
December 8, 2010
November 9, 2010
Holiday Parties
Family, friends, food, spirits, music; what more could anyone ask for around the holiday season? Okay, maybe a couple million in the bank account and a less stressful planning time of year. Unfortunately Peak Events cannot help with the millions, but we can help your party or event run smoothly! Here are a few tips to follow if you are brave enough to go this alone (if after a while you need our help, we’ll still be here!) :
* Decide the type of party. Will it be for family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and will children be allowed? This will set the mood with what festivities to include.
* Settle on a menu early. Buffet or sit down? Multiple course or hors d'oeurves? How many types of desserts. Signature cocktail or make your own drinks? Writing down your list will be a great help!
* Location, Location, Location. Will this be at the office, your house or somewhere else?
* Plan rentals accordingly. After the invites have been sent out, reserve rentals for extra chairs, tables and serving dishes that you may not have. It is a lot easier than buying!
* And at the main stage is… Will you load up your iPod with holiday music? Hire a band/DJ? Making sure the party stays lively is essential to your guests having a good time!
* Deck the Halls. The décor you choose will help make your guests feel festive and cheerful. Preferably don’t overdo it and make the location look like winter went crazy. Just a few here and there will do it, a nice tablescape, some garland hanging, luminaries guiding the guests to the entry door.
* Eat, drink, and be merry. This is your event so make sure to enjoy it! Have one of your signature cocktails, some delicious food, and heck even sing a bit!
Hopefully these few guidelines are enough to get you started planning your holiday party.
Happy Holidays!
Stephanie
* Decide the type of party. Will it be for family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and will children be allowed? This will set the mood with what festivities to include.
* Settle on a menu early. Buffet or sit down? Multiple course or hors d'oeurves? How many types of desserts. Signature cocktail or make your own drinks? Writing down your list will be a great help!
* Location, Location, Location. Will this be at the office, your house or somewhere else?
* Plan rentals accordingly. After the invites have been sent out, reserve rentals for extra chairs, tables and serving dishes that you may not have. It is a lot easier than buying!
* And at the main stage is… Will you load up your iPod with holiday music? Hire a band/DJ? Making sure the party stays lively is essential to your guests having a good time!
* Deck the Halls. The décor you choose will help make your guests feel festive and cheerful. Preferably don’t overdo it and make the location look like winter went crazy. Just a few here and there will do it, a nice tablescape, some garland hanging, luminaries guiding the guests to the entry door.
* Eat, drink, and be merry. This is your event so make sure to enjoy it! Have one of your signature cocktails, some delicious food, and heck even sing a bit!
Hopefully these few guidelines are enough to get you started planning your holiday party.
Happy Holidays!
Stephanie
April 30, 2010
Summer Solstice Party
Oh my! The summer solstice party is a growing. I sat down with an initial list and had about 150 people on the list. Now, I’ve had parties this big in the past and although I’ve enjoyed them, I just didn’t know if I wanted this party to be one of those. So, I got it down to about 60 people and was feeling very pretty good until I started running into people and realized I’d forgotten a BUNCH of folks. So then I went back to the drawing board and we’re up to around 174 and I need to pare down AGAIN!
So, today I’m going to talk about whom do you cut and who do you leave on your invitation list! If I were to put it out there to all the people I know casually, professionally, family, and friends the numbers could hit astronomical numbers. But I can’t afford to have a party for that many people – at least not until my daughter gets married. So, where do you begin when you’ve got too many names and not enough dough?
First I write down all my dearest of friends. The ones who I enjoy being around and can’t live without. In all honesty – this number is only around 15. Then you add the friends you don’t see very often, but when you do see them you remember how much you enjoy them. Then you add in the friends that are a little more on the fringe, not because you don’t like them, but because life, work, things get in the way. Forget about all the “shoulds” you know, the ones who you work with, are in organizations together and are friends of friends. This is your party and it should reflect the kind of energy you want. So, with all of that – I’m at around 75. Good number. Not everyone will attend, but I bet I have around 50 who are there. And that’s a nice size party for my backyard and my budget.
Next week – I get to budget for my 50 friends I think will attend and I’ll talk invitations and themes.
Deb
So, today I’m going to talk about whom do you cut and who do you leave on your invitation list! If I were to put it out there to all the people I know casually, professionally, family, and friends the numbers could hit astronomical numbers. But I can’t afford to have a party for that many people – at least not until my daughter gets married. So, where do you begin when you’ve got too many names and not enough dough?
First I write down all my dearest of friends. The ones who I enjoy being around and can’t live without. In all honesty – this number is only around 15. Then you add the friends you don’t see very often, but when you do see them you remember how much you enjoy them. Then you add in the friends that are a little more on the fringe, not because you don’t like them, but because life, work, things get in the way. Forget about all the “shoulds” you know, the ones who you work with, are in organizations together and are friends of friends. This is your party and it should reflect the kind of energy you want. So, with all of that – I’m at around 75. Good number. Not everyone will attend, but I bet I have around 50 who are there. And that’s a nice size party for my backyard and my budget.
Next week – I get to budget for my 50 friends I think will attend and I’ll talk invitations and themes.
Deb
April 19, 2010
Summer Solstice Party
Hi Everyone and welcome back to the blog. Here in Flagstaff, the sun was shining all weekend and the weather was nothing short of fantastic. I got to spend all day Saturday making my front yard presentable, clearing away the leaves and cleaning up trash that obviously came in on a wind gust and was trapped for months under our 12 feet of snow. Now that the snow is melting, and the front yard is fixed up, I can concentrate all my evenings and weekends on the backyard and getting everything ready for the Summer Solstice party.
The Annual Summer Solstice Party is by far my favorite party of the year. There is nothing that brings me greater joy than bringing together all my friends and family to enjoy perfect weather, great food and a good time.
This year’s Summer Solstice Party is going to be the best one to date. (okay, I say that every year – and every year I’m right!!!) It’s only April, so I do have some time and time is one thing a planner will consider a gift. I’ve got a few months to continue with the backyard and more than likely I’ll be “redecorating” right up to the moment people arrive. So, what am I doing a few months out? Here’s my list for this week:
1. Make guest list and design invitations. I haven’t decided if I want to mail them out, use facebook, use email or a combination. My first choice is to go to About Memories and More and let Kirstin help me design the perfect invite, spend a few evenings putting them together and then mailing them out. While this is my first pick, I don’t have everyone’s address and I don’t want them to think I’m only inviting them “after the fact”. So, I either have to get everyone’s addresses and thankfully there is enough time, or email everyone.
2. I’m trying to envision how I want the party to look. Now, I’d love to have fresh cut flowers everywhere, but my gardens won’t be producing “cut” flowers until August, and I’d rather invest in perennials than flower arrangements. Last year I had a total garden theme even using terra cotta planters to hold food. BTW – if you soak the terra cotta in ice cold water for an hour before serving it will help keep your food cold. But the lining of the pots was time consuming.
3. Next I’m thinking about the menu. I’ve already gotten requests for some of the appetizers and I know Satchmos BBQ is always a hit, so food I can wait until June to work on.
4. Seating – This is always a challenge with a party. If you make sure everyone can sit and enjoy their food, then you run the risk of everyone clumping into groups. I try to have seating vignettes throughout the yard and that way people can still mingle. I’ll have to visit the budget for this one.
5. Entertainment – do we all mingle which is always fun, and I try to have some great outdoor games available and set up, but do I want to go DJ and possibly have dancing? Again, I must check the budget and make sure it’s the feel for the event.
Well, these are just a few of the things I’m working on for the party – next time I’ll bring in more things to consider.
Take care and MAKE YOUR LIFE AN EVENT!!
Debbi
The Annual Summer Solstice Party is by far my favorite party of the year. There is nothing that brings me greater joy than bringing together all my friends and family to enjoy perfect weather, great food and a good time.
This year’s Summer Solstice Party is going to be the best one to date. (okay, I say that every year – and every year I’m right!!!) It’s only April, so I do have some time and time is one thing a planner will consider a gift. I’ve got a few months to continue with the backyard and more than likely I’ll be “redecorating” right up to the moment people arrive. So, what am I doing a few months out? Here’s my list for this week:
1. Make guest list and design invitations. I haven’t decided if I want to mail them out, use facebook, use email or a combination. My first choice is to go to About Memories and More and let Kirstin help me design the perfect invite, spend a few evenings putting them together and then mailing them out. While this is my first pick, I don’t have everyone’s address and I don’t want them to think I’m only inviting them “after the fact”. So, I either have to get everyone’s addresses and thankfully there is enough time, or email everyone.
2. I’m trying to envision how I want the party to look. Now, I’d love to have fresh cut flowers everywhere, but my gardens won’t be producing “cut” flowers until August, and I’d rather invest in perennials than flower arrangements. Last year I had a total garden theme even using terra cotta planters to hold food. BTW – if you soak the terra cotta in ice cold water for an hour before serving it will help keep your food cold. But the lining of the pots was time consuming.
3. Next I’m thinking about the menu. I’ve already gotten requests for some of the appetizers and I know Satchmos BBQ is always a hit, so food I can wait until June to work on.
4. Seating – This is always a challenge with a party. If you make sure everyone can sit and enjoy their food, then you run the risk of everyone clumping into groups. I try to have seating vignettes throughout the yard and that way people can still mingle. I’ll have to visit the budget for this one.
5. Entertainment – do we all mingle which is always fun, and I try to have some great outdoor games available and set up, but do I want to go DJ and possibly have dancing? Again, I must check the budget and make sure it’s the feel for the event.
Well, these are just a few of the things I’m working on for the party – next time I’ll bring in more things to consider.
Take care and MAKE YOUR LIFE AN EVENT!!
Debbi
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