Holiday Parties!

The Holidays are Here!

            We just wrapped up our HUGE birthday/holiday party for my boss. What an amazing event! It was, once again, held at the house and we had an incredible 750 guests! We built a large “pergola” in the street to allow us to handle such a crowd. We were planning for months and setting up for weeks. At last count, it required 350 people to make the party happen! What a wonderful thing to do at this time of year, employ 350 people when jobs and work are so scarce! I was honored to again work with so many talented and hard working people. Our chef, Jennifer Johnson, created a world-class menu and managed the numerous vendors she had chosen to participate in the event.

            The event went on without a hitch. It poured rain, and we were dry. Power was out all over Pacific Heights, but not on our block. The guests came early and were treated to fabulous cocktails by our friends at Rye on the Road Beverage Catering, gourmet wood-fired pizzas by Evan Shivley, a spectacular seafood display by Aquatic Culture, the best sushi in the Bay Area by Sushi Ran, delicious Asian Fusion food by Umami Restaurant, a fabulous cheese display, artisanal charcuterie, ice cream by ICI, and the most incredible cake you have ever seen by Julie Durkee of Torino Baking. Everyone had an awesome time celebrating my boss’s birthday and the holidays. Everyone (well, almost everyone) behaved well and got home safely. The big party got me thinking about how one should and shouldn’t act when a guest in someone’s home. You’re likely to be headed to a holiday party or two in the next couple of weeks. Keep these rules in mind and you’re sure to have a wonderful time and make a good impression on folks you don’t know and solidify or improve your reputation with those you do know.

·      Bring along a nice gift for the hostess. A simple and easy gift is a bottle of wine or champagne. Remember that it is not up to you when your host serves the wine; you gave it to them as a gift and they can choose to open it whenever they like. The wine you brought may not go with the meal that is being served. My wife happens to like particular champagne, so we often bring two bottles, one for now and one for later. If your host doesn’t drink, any small gift will do. Coasters or festive cocktail napkins are a fun gift to give and to receive. Get creative and give your hostess something related to an interest of theirs. I think something in the range of $20-$30 is about right for a hostess gift.

·      Don’t drink too much. It’s easy to get carried away at Holiday parties, but it’s important to know your limits. A good rule to follow when drinking is to alternate an alcoholic drink with a glass of water. If you do have too much to drink, don’t drive. You can ruin a lot of people’s Holidays for the rest of their lives if you die or kill someone while driving. For the cost of defending yourself against a DUI, you could have taken a cab to New York!

·      Black tie means black tie. No, a dark suit will not do. Ladies, dress your best. These days the opportunities are very seldom to wear formal attire, so do your best to enjoy the chance to “dress.” See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_tie for details of black tie attire.

Have fun and enjoy the holidays!

Below are a few photos from the big party. I'll do another post in the near future with full details of the amazing event!