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“On the Rocks” station, by A Joy Wallace Catering Production

Crudite, dip, and shrimp display, on an antique cart, by L-Eat Catering in Toronto

Dessert and artisanal tea buffet, by chef Tomas Rivera for Poko Event Productions in Los Angeles

Tapas bar, by Good Gracious Events! in Los Angeles, displayed on sustainable bamboo risers from Cal-Mil (800.321.9069, calmil.com)

Spring hors d’oeuvres table with lobster tacos, parmesan truffle popcorn, beef short rib sliders with mini shots of Guinness, shrimp tempura lollipops, and mac ’n’ cheese canapés, by Boutique Bites in Chicago

Short rib tacos with shredded cabbage, tomato, and chipotle crema served on a slab of pink salt, from Michael Stuart (347.689.9822, mscnyc.com) in New York

Buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup, jumbo blueberries, strawberry fragments, and powdered sugar, from Esprit Events Kosher Catering (212.207.3888, espritevents.com) in New York

Rice & Company at the Luxor has introduced new holiday sushi rolls, including "Santa's Roll" and "Roll in the New Year."

Led by Isabel and Ruben Toledo, New York University students put together a table with a shabby-chic theme.

Hand-painted salvaged wood menu designed by Mélangerie Inc.

Seared steak with cranberry chutney on a rice crisp with chestnut aioli is one of the holiday menu offerings from Shiraz Events.

The festive Cranberry 75 from the Martini Club is made with homemade cranberry syrup and garnished with a cranberry.

Give guests gifts of Coach House Shortbread Company's new Sugar Plum shortbread.

New menu items from Gourmet Caterers, designed to be eaten while guests mingle at cocktail parties, include lobster dressed with lemon aioli and served in martini glasses.

Saphire Event Group's "Share a Party" concept, designed to accommodate parties with smaller budgets, allows groups to buy out part of a venue and participate in a hosted holiday party that includes hors d'oeuvres, a plated dinner with dessert, dancing, and live entertainment. This year's shared party takes place on December 16 in the Madera ballroom at the Villa in East Bridgewater. Tickets start at $50 each and are available to groups with four to 250 guests. Members of the same group are seated together.

An illuminated table held jars filled with candy.

Ridgewells provided two dessert stations with mini-sweets like pie bites and tiny macaroons for the after-party.

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

Colorful sweets topped a table at the preview night. "The day before and the day of Sneak Preview Night hosts nearly 10,000 media and auto industry executives, so it’s a challenge to set up for one event during another," the auto show's Callari said. "In addition to the limited setup time and juggling of events, the venue itself is vast, with high ceilings and thousands of windows. Making that space feel intimate and festive requires creativity. And we have to be conscious of costs since this is a charity event, but we do not want to lose the world-class look of the L.A. Auto Show."

Ritzy Bee Events used craft paper and chalk to label the passed appetizers for a rehearsal dinner at the Decatur House in Washington so guests wouldn’t be left guessing.

Jeffrey Foster of Event Creative designed custom-built tables and props, including glowing baseball diamond-shaped tables and a scoreboard that hung above the dance floor, for a bar mitzvah at the Ravenswood Event Center in Chicago.