1. Dare to Dream
Just in time for holiday celebrations, the funky new Dream
Hotel is slated to open this fall. The former Majestic hotel has undergone extensive renovations, transformed in part by superstar designer David Rockwell, who has created Fellini-inspired interiors for the property’s in-house Serafina restaurant. Subconscious, a series of cavernous rooms with enough space for 350, will open in January. Mark Zeff designed Epernay, a champagne lounge adjacent to the lobby, and Dream Lounge, which is decorated with a wild array of colorful stripes. Atop the hotel, Ava Lounge remains.
2. Shake and Stir
Morrell & Company is known for wine tastings, but did you know they can also customize a cocktail-making class? Make every member of your group a bartender as they learn the difference between a martini and a Manhattan. Classes are offered at the company’s Rockefeller Center retail store or its Seventh Avenue tasting room, and representatives can also come to an off-site event. Pricing begins at $75 per person.
3. Get Freaky
Get a little piece of Coney Island fun by booking acts from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. Performers from the legendary amusement park do the strangest things, including Ravi the Bendable Boy from Bombay who can pull himself through a tennis racket, or the charming Princess Ankhara, a snake mistress who can wander around your party with her slithering serpents. A complete show in the New York area costs $3,500, or book an individual performer for $600.
4. Think Warm Thoughts
Invigorate your party with a blast of warmth from sunny Hawaii. Tastefully Done suggests items such as pineapple ginger salmon skewers, coconut shrimp with orange ginger sauce, and assorted dumplings and vegetable spring rolls. A luau menu starts at $70 per person, including decorative touches such as tables decorated with tropical flowers, coconuts, sugarcane, and tiki masks, as well as bar service and staffing.
5. Sip Some Chocolate
Create a decadent hot chocolate bar for a cozy feeling amid the chilly winter weather. Neuman & Bogdonoff presents milk, dark, and white varieties of hot chocolate with stations stocked with steamed milk, cinnamon sticks, homemade marshmallows, and liquors such as Grand Marnier, Kahlua, or Sambuca. Service for a three-hour party for 200 guests begins at $10 per person.
6. Plant Some Trees
The humble carnation takes on a new image with this elegant trio of trees from Botanica Inc. Use the floral designs on bars, buffets, or as centerpieces. The trees can be made with red or white carnations, come in three different heights, and can be decorated with tiny lights. Costs of the shortest trees begin at $65 and the tallest trees begin at $100.
7. Give It Away
Guests can do double duty—celebrating and shopping—at a retail venue like Toys “R” Us, where you can toast the season in the store’s lovely event space. You can also do a good deed: Encourage everyone to choose items to send to charitable organizations, or use an array of charity-bound items to decorate the reception.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 12.01.04
Just in time for holiday celebrations, the funky new Dream
Hotel is slated to open this fall. The former Majestic hotel has undergone extensive renovations, transformed in part by superstar designer David Rockwell, who has created Fellini-inspired interiors for the property’s in-house Serafina restaurant. Subconscious, a series of cavernous rooms with enough space for 350, will open in January. Mark Zeff designed Epernay, a champagne lounge adjacent to the lobby, and Dream Lounge, which is decorated with a wild array of colorful stripes. Atop the hotel, Ava Lounge remains.
2. Shake and Stir
Morrell & Company is known for wine tastings, but did you know they can also customize a cocktail-making class? Make every member of your group a bartender as they learn the difference between a martini and a Manhattan. Classes are offered at the company’s Rockefeller Center retail store or its Seventh Avenue tasting room, and representatives can also come to an off-site event. Pricing begins at $75 per person.
3. Get Freaky
Get a little piece of Coney Island fun by booking acts from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. Performers from the legendary amusement park do the strangest things, including Ravi the Bendable Boy from Bombay who can pull himself through a tennis racket, or the charming Princess Ankhara, a snake mistress who can wander around your party with her slithering serpents. A complete show in the New York area costs $3,500, or book an individual performer for $600.
4. Think Warm Thoughts
Invigorate your party with a blast of warmth from sunny Hawaii. Tastefully Done suggests items such as pineapple ginger salmon skewers, coconut shrimp with orange ginger sauce, and assorted dumplings and vegetable spring rolls. A luau menu starts at $70 per person, including decorative touches such as tables decorated with tropical flowers, coconuts, sugarcane, and tiki masks, as well as bar service and staffing.
5. Sip Some Chocolate
Create a decadent hot chocolate bar for a cozy feeling amid the chilly winter weather. Neuman & Bogdonoff presents milk, dark, and white varieties of hot chocolate with stations stocked with steamed milk, cinnamon sticks, homemade marshmallows, and liquors such as Grand Marnier, Kahlua, or Sambuca. Service for a three-hour party for 200 guests begins at $10 per person.
6. Plant Some Trees
The humble carnation takes on a new image with this elegant trio of trees from Botanica Inc. Use the floral designs on bars, buffets, or as centerpieces. The trees can be made with red or white carnations, come in three different heights, and can be decorated with tiny lights. Costs of the shortest trees begin at $65 and the tallest trees begin at $100.
7. Give It Away
Guests can do double duty—celebrating and shopping—at a retail venue like Toys “R” Us, where you can toast the season in the store’s lovely event space. You can also do a good deed: Encourage everyone to choose items to send to charitable organizations, or use an array of charity-bound items to decorate the reception.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 12.01.04
Dream Hotel
Neuman & Bogdonoff's hot chocolate bar
Tastefully Done's Hawaiian buffet
Botanica Inc.'s carnation decor
