Gifts & Favors

April 9, 2012

Adorn cocktails and desserts with Sweet Déjà Vu’s (sweet dejavu.etsy.com) edible pieces of rice paper, from $3 for 30, in the shape of snowflakes, flowers, leaves, and more.

Photo: Courtesy of Sweet Déjà Vu

Bryn Chernoff of Paperfinger created custom calligraphy stamps of each guest’s name, which doubled as place cards and favors at a private dinner party held at the Foundry in New York.

Photo: Jen Huang Photography

Bathroom amenity baskets are a staple at social events, sometimes tying to the event’s motif, like this one created by State of the Art Enterprises for a bar mitzvah with a graphic pattern theme.

Photo: Carlos Andres Varela

The candy shop was brightly lit and filled with Ernst & Young's colours, yellow and white. There were four candy stations that had fudge, yellow cotton candy, a self-serve candy bar with branded plastic bags, and white-iced cookies and cupcakes.

Photo: BizBash

Atlas's yellow and black display for the launch of Pilates NYC's pre- and post-natal programs.

Photo: Gemma Comas

A sweets table held cupcakes, egg shells filled with gingerbread custard, whoopie pies, candy, and cake pops with protruding pretzel bits that looked like reindeer antlers.

Photo: Nancy Behall

An illuminated table held jars filled with candy.

Photo: Nancy Behall

At the event, guests could purchase corsages and boutonniers that were provided by Whole Foods.

Photo: Kat Fitzgerald

Beverly Hills Brownie Company is now open on Beverly Drive, with a menu of 18 signature flavors including chocolate, red velvet, chocolate mint chip, caramel blondie, poppy seed, peanut brittle, and mocha latte. The treats are ideal for in-office holiday celebrations or delivered in gift baskets as corporate gifts.

Photo: Courtesy of Beverly Hills Brownie Company

Popcorn boutique Corn & Company has opened in Burlington and offers the snack in more than 250 unusual flavors, including dill pickle, wasabi, and birthday cake. It can be doled out as favors or at popcorn bars for events. The Boston-based shop can also host private affairs.

Photo: Courtesy of Corn & Company

Dinner tables were topped with miniature Ferris wheels that held cupcakes topped with colorful frosting.

Photo: George Pimentel Photography

Guests could twirl their own sticks of pastel cotton candy.

Photo: George Pimentel Photography

The evening's menu, which was suspended like an umbrella on a swivel stick, featured dishes like grilled shrimp with cucumber-wrapped quinoa salad and blood orange emulsion and a manjari chocolate mousse sombrero for dessert. Mike's Hard Lemonade's Mikes Classic Margarita was the signature drink of the event.

Photo: Rob Rich

Playful menu items included cherry bocconcini with grape tomatoes with individual tubes of balsamic vinaigrette. Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex handled the catering.

Photo: Caitlin Wickham/Photagonist.ca

19. Candy Jewels

“A candy shop opens to reveal bejeweled confections. Intricate candy necklaces and glittering bon-bons become takeaways.” Chocolate necklace, $60, from JinJu Chocolates

Photo: Courtesy of JinJu Chocolates

A Tropical Retreat With Eco-Friendly Details

“Rather than a traditional winter-themed holiday event, we’ve imagined that this company has decided to treat employees to a unique tropical retreat that creatively accommodates the company’s eco-conscious initiatives. Inspired by Bali, the decor has an airy, organic feel with a palette of earth tones, and the cuisine is Asian-inspired. A venue with wooden floors and bow truss ceilings is key for creating a lush, tropical environment with an outdoor feel. The theme also highlights decor that can be re-used. In lieu of gifts, the company will plant a tree for each person that attends the event through a local environmental nonprofit.”—David Judaken and April Luca of DNA Events

Rendering: Courtesy of DNA Events

Relief From High-Heel Suffering

After a long Oscar night, host Seth MacFarlane's official after-party included a station from Tkees, which encouraged guests to check their heels (similar to the way they would at a coat check) and pick up a pair of flip-flops—in gold, appropriate to the occasion.

Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash

At the D.I.Y. gift-wrapping station, customers can use a combination of feathers and thick ribbons to create a "glam" look.

Photo: Maypole Studios Photography

The elaborately frosted cakes from Crème-Delicious come in individual acrylic boxes.

Photo: Jika González for BizBash

Sponsor Moleskin provided gifts, which guests found at each place setting.

Photo: Courtesy of The Walrus Foundation

Chocolate Survival Kit

For a gift almost too pretty to eat, Flying Noir Chocolates of Mendocino, California, offers hand-painted treats from Karen Urbanek, who doubles as an artist. The survival kit—packaged in an oval sardine tin—includes six chocolate confections such as the caramel balsamnam, a slow-cooked cream caramel with balsamic reduction and savory salt in a single-origin dark chocolate ($18).

Photo: Courtesy of Flying Noir Chocolates

Vegan Chocolates

For meeting attendees with special dietary needs, Oliver Kita Chocolates of Rhinebeck, New York, now offers vegan chocolates that are gluten-free, dairy-free, fair-trade, and organic. His line of Maynard Rabbits, with oversize floppy ears, comes in a vegan version that is 70 percent dark organic chocolate ($8.95 to $14.95).

Photo: Courtesy of Oliver Kita Chocolates

Candy Gift Baskets in Los Angeles

The popular New York candy emporium Dylan’s Candy Bar has opened a location in Los Angeles at 6333 West 3rd Street. Personal shoppers are on hand to help select corporate gifts, and a “celebrations team” can bring the whole store experience to an office or any other off-site venue.

Photo: Courtesy of Dylan's Candy Bar

Women in Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party

On Friday, Women in Film, Perrier-Jouët, MAC Cosmetics, and MaxMara celebrated their seventh annual Women in Film pre-Oscar cocktail party at Fig & Olive. Guests scooped up MAC gifts chosen by the Oscar-nominated makeup artist for The Lone Ranger.

Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Women In Film

Book Lover's Ball

Held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto on February 6, the event had a lush, pastel dessert display from Sweet Table. The display was decked with illuminated trees, which fit in with the event’s “adopt a branch” fund-raising for the Toronto Public Library. Stacks of books also underscored the literary theme.

Photo: George Pimentel