Winter theme

Ronald McDonald House Toronto hosted its annual holiday-time gala at the Carlu in December. McNabb Roick Events reflected the Holiday Chic: Sparkle theme in sequined table linens and the crystal candle holders that served as centerpieces.

For a winter-themed corporate party, design director Andrew Zill of Baltimore-based Feats Inc. created a snowy scene that included a glowing bar anchored by a crystal-flocked tree.

Centerpieces of white carnations designed by Feats Inc. evoked fluffy snowballs.

David Stark created an elegant but relatively inexpensive look for the Whitney Museum of American Art's annual gala in December by using hundreds of softly glowing candles.

The Portlandia season 3 premiere party, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in December, played off the idea of Portland in winter with quirky displays of everyday objects suspended in ice.

At Diffa's Dining by Design in New York, Ralph Lauren went with a cozy, ski chalet-inspired look. Centerpieces of snowberries and wrought-iron lanterns created a runner down the center of the rustic wood table. Other striking details included a faux fireplace, Pendleton-inspired bench cushions, and an antler chandelier.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada celebrated its 50th anniversary gala in November at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, where planners created a wintery forest feel by lining the ballroom with living trees hung with candlelit lanterns.

In New York, the Sanctuary Hotel's Haven Rooftop has been turned into a ski chalet for the winter season. Available for private events, the fully tented, heated space comes complete with new seasonal drinks, such as peppermint hot cocoa spiked with Bailey's, and a menu of hearty, savory dishes. Revelers also have the option to take a "ski shot"—four signature shots to share with friends—off of an actual ski.

For a party Maxim threw to celebrate January cover girl Michelle Branch in 2004, the magazine's in-house design team created a unique invite: Guests received a white branded ski cap; instead of a price, the tag on the hat carried the event info and served as an admission ticket.

Russell Harris Event Group produced a winter wonderland-themed party for Fox in 2010. The designers covered the patio at Los Angeles's Villa Sorriso in blue carpeting and hung LED tubes in the trees, creating an effect that simulated falling snow.

In November at Diffa's annual Dining by Design event at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, the table Hok designed for Halcon had a winter forest feel. Walls were lined with logs, and the chandelier was covered in twigs.

Shiraz Events provided decor for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center gala in Miami in December. Tabletops were covered in silvery linens, and centerpieces of orchids and silver-coated ivy sat atop glowing white platforms.

The Park Avenue Armory in New York was decorated by David Monn for the 2012 holiday season. Monn used natural materials including birch, magnolia leaves, evergreen branches, and pine cones to adorn the ornate space's interiors.

Kapture Vision produced a holiday bash with a masquerade theme for CyberCoders in December at Newport Beach Dunes Resort in Newport Beach, California. Jay's Catering set up a s'more station where guests could fire-roast their own desserts.

Zak Events wanted to showcase "winter whites" at the 11th annual June Briggs Awards held at the Pierre New York in January. The look included custom-built white leather tufted highboy cocktail tables topped with icy-looking glass vessels filled with candlelight.

Bloor Street Entertains, a fund-raiser for Canfar, took place in several venues on the Toronto street in November and was produced by Spinradius Events. At one stop, guests sat in chairs draped with cozy fur wraps.

The Out NYC's Great Lawn has been turned into a "Winter Wonderland" for the season. The area, which is available for group buyouts, includes an outdoor ice rink, wintery decor, a pine forest, hot tubs, and a menu of Alpine-inspired food and drinks such as chocolate fondue, cheese fondue, hot mulled wine, Mexican hot chocolate, and more.

MillerCoors celebrated the introduction of the Coors Light resealable aluminum pint can in 2010 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa. The hotel's pool area was converted into a winter scene with fake snow, ice sculptures, and illuminated high-tops meant to resemble blocks of ice.

As a way to introduce its new all-wheel-drive models, British carmaker Jaguar built a larger-than-life snow globe in New York in the height of summer. To make the transparent, spherical tent feel like a snow globe, producers tapped Los Angeles-based MagicSnow to bring in a machine that periodically dispersed ice flakes.

The Washington National Opera Ball took over the ceremonial building at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in 2010. Event producer Sandi Hoffman of Sandi R. Hoffman Special Events transformed the lobby into a winter landscape with plush white carpets and white birch trees lining the hallway.

At the 2010 National Opera Ball, the winter theme continued into the courtyard, which featured fake snow falling from the rooftop and was designed as a tribute to the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Entertainers circled the snow-filled courtyard in inflated Zorbs.

For Toronto marketing company Capital C's annual holiday party in 2011, Apex Sound & Light projected 3-D mapped images of falling snow onto the venue's windows. Silver furniture added to the ice theme.

Capital C's creative director of live events, Mary Pallattella, created booths against the wall of the dance floor space for the company's holiday party. A video fireplace centered the booths.

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium held a Russian winter-themed gala in 2010. Heffernan Morgan designer John Hensel incorporated wintry touches into the decor, illuminating the pathway to the cocktail reception with snowflake-shaped gobos.

For a Regent Park School of Music fund-raiser held at the Carlu in Toronto in 2009, the event organizers at McNabb Roick Events draped panels of sheer white fabric and oversize snowflakes, stars, and icicles from the ceiling of the concert hall to give the space a wintry feel.

Aiming to entertain the tweens in the crowd, Sandi R. Hoffman Special Events created an ice lounge modeled after the Icehotel in Sweden.

Design Cuisine headed up the catering in the ice lounge, serving, among other dishes, Himalayan salted valrhona chocolate caramels under gilded eggshells on top of bittersweet chocolate nests.

Students from the Corcoran College of Art and Design created a tree crafted from recycled wine bottles.

Patrick Baglino Jr. of ASID Interior Design designed the Christmas Candy Tree, with candies from Dylan's Candy Bar.

In the children's workshop, sponsored by CVS, kids could get their photo taken with Santa, in addition to watching movies and working at arts and crafts stations.

In the children's workshop, kids could create ornaments.

Another station had kids writing cheerful letters to the children in the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit of the Georgetown University Hospital.

The children's workshop also included a cookie decorating station.

Elves were on hand to make fun balloons for the children who attended.

Dancers from the Maryland Youth Ballet posed with the children for photo ops and handed out gift bags.

Poshbooth supplied a photo booth where guests could get into the holiday spirit, posing with Christmas-themed props.

Swank Audiovisuals lit the hotel ballroom with branded gobos for the event sponsors. Toyota returned as a sponsor this year, raffling off a 2012 Scion iQ.

Dolci Gelati was one of the vendors in the ballroom.

Taberna del Alabardero was one of 16 restaurants that doled out small bites in the hotel ballroom.