Presentation/Beverages

At a Queens Botanical Garden gala in New York in June, Tip of the Tongue served pink cherry lemonade, lemon mint iced tea, Corona coolers (with ginger, cucumber, lime, and gin), and strawberry watermelon agua fresca from garden carts decorated with miniature potted roses. 

During the recession, a limited bar of beer and wine—or no alcohol at all—seemed to be the go-to choice. But now the fully stocked open bar is back, with 45 percent of companies opting for one last year, according to the BizBash survey. Industry pros predict that number will be even higher in 2013: “The open bar is not where clients are cutting back this year—they’re doing a full bar, plus a few specialty cocktail options,” Gorjestani says. Speaking of which, the interest in craft cocktails remains strong. “Society is still attached to classic cocktails and chef-driven mixology—guests get excited by throwback, Prohibition-style drinks made with bourbon, as well as cocktails made with fresh herbs and house-made syrups,” Neubauer says. But the latest trend may be something you remember from your high school prom, updated with a boozy twist: the drink fountain. While punches have been popular at holiday parties for several years, booze-filled fountains were one of the top trends spotted at this year’s Tales of the Cocktail, the annual drink festival in New Orleans. “I think these will gain popularity at corporate events because they are both fantastic for serving signature cocktails to larger groups and also serve as a gorgeous decorative element for an event,” Belvedere’s head of spirit creation and mixology, Claire Smith, told BizBash. Still, it’s never a bad idea to make sure nonalcoholic options are on hand, and Neubauer suggests offering more than just Diet Coke. “House-crafted sodas and elixirs make nonalcoholic options seem more enticing,” he says. Pictured: A private holiday event produced by Hollywood Pop Gallery featured a fully stocked custom circular bar covered in images of ornaments.

A plastic-wrap wall formed the front of the bar area, with only a narrow, horizontal strip of space through which the bartenders could communicate and pass drinks.

Create a cozy ambience in any setting by renting a black enclosed fireplace, $300, from Taylor Creative Inc.

Rent Cloth Connections' new piano-sequin overlay in red, $52.95 each, to make dinner tables look especially cheery.

Music for Tomorrow's online booking service, which launched earlier this year, allows you to easily book jazz musicians for last-minute parties and events in New York. Just name your price (starting from $100 an hour), the style of jazz you prefer, and the event details, and Music for Tomorrow will provide you with a list of available musicians selected from their curated database of more than 100 acts, including Grammy award-winners and Juilliard graduates who can play jazzy versions of holiday tunes like "Feliz Navidad" and "Deck the Halls." The company, which is a nonprofit charity organization, asks for voluntary tax-deductible donations on each booking.

Abigail Kirsch is introducing several new festive menu items for on-site and off-site holiday party catering. A take on the Jell-O shot is made from mulled sangria, featuring layers of cranberry spiced sangria and brandied ginger gelée in pomegranate pine needle syrup, and Very Cherry hot cocoa, featuring liquid Vahlrona ganache, kirschwasser, and cherry blossom essence served with double-chocolate-dipped cherries.

RentQuest has a variety of holiday party-appropriate lounge decor, including its wrought-iron five-tiered votive candle chandelier, $150, and rectangular white mohair slipcover, $275. Add in several of Greenroom’s Gold Link ottomans, $90 each, to complete the look.

For an interactive gift idea, the Underground Press, a 15-year-old Brooklyn company that prints T-shirts for concerts and corporate events, now offers on-site custom T-shirt screen-printing services for private events. Corporate groups can work with the company to come up with original T-shirt designs, which are then turned into print-ready files. At the event, guests can pick their design, color, and shirt size, then watch as it gets made. The setup takes up minimal space (at least 10 feet by 10 feet) and requires at least two weeks’ advance notice. Pricing is based on a variety of factors—including the quantity and quality of shirts needed, the length of the event, and how many presses and staffers are required—but generally costs between $2,000 and $10,000.

This season, the New York Holiday Singers are debuting a new contemporary jazz sound, singing custom a cappella arrangements of holiday favorites as well as original compositions in five-part harmony. Pricing is based on a variety of factors but generally starts around $800 per hour. If you’re looking for a choir with a more traditional repertoire, book their sibling ensemble, the Holiday Choristers. The fixed pricing structure ranges from $65 up to $100 per hour per singer; you can hire as few as three or as many as 14 singers.

By Brooklyn, a new boutique in Cobble Hill peddling locally made gift items, is offering custom holiday baskets, starting from $25. The baskets can be filled with any of the Brooklyn-made goods in the shop, including artisanal candy from Liddabit Sweets and recycled paper journals made by Andy Pratt, or they can be themed by category, like “food” or  “apothecary.”

For a booze-fueled group activity that’s more interactive than your average open bar, sign up for Astor Center’s Winter Greenmarket Cocktails class. A professional mixologist teaches groups of as many as 60 how to make cocktails using seasonal ingredients purchased from the Union Square Greenmarket. After making three drinks as a class, guests team to create their own cocktail using the featured Greenmarket ingredients and dozens of liquors, spirits, bitters, and juices. The classes begin and end with a sparkling wine and hors d’oeuvre reception and last for three hours. Pricing ranges from $3,500 up to $6,500.

White birch is a stylish and inexpensive way to create a tabletop display with a wintery forest look. Pair Brooklyn-based Nettleton Hollow's new birch pillars, from $4 to $12.25 each, with fresh pine boughs or votives.

Chocolate custard sphere, served with beet root and brown butter ice cream with cocoa tulle and stone fruit, by Wolfgang Puck Catering in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Seattle

Blood orange segments served with creamy mascarpone cheesecake, white chocolate crisp, red liquid gel, Florida citrus ganache, and ­edible micro flowers, by Puff ‘n Stuff Catering in Orlando

Sliced tenderloin, sunny-side quail egg, and white truffle oil on a crostini, by Puff ‘n Stuff Catering in Orlando

Freshly baked cracker pillows broken open with maracas to reveal a Greek salad of feta, fried eggplant, corn, and cucumber with oregano vinaigrette, by Pinch Food Design in New York

Tiramisu made with mascarpone mousse, chocolate cake, espresso cake puree, and coffee crumbs, presented in the abstract style of Jackson Pollock, by Pinch Food Design in New York

Raspberry Ramos Gin Fizz with Green Hat gin, raspberry, sugar, egg white, and soda water, by Evoke in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Stir Bartending Company in Washington

Dehydrated cocktail paper made with Rujero singani, coconut, vanilla, and kaffir lime, with an edible flower, by Evoke in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Stir Bartending Company in Washington

Charred vegetable tagine with apricot-pepper sauce on saffron socca with spiced yogurt, by Eatertainment in Toronto

Mini cannelloni bites with ricotta, shaved mozzarella, and arrabbiata salsa, by Eatertainment in Toronto

Chilled oysters wrapped in a champagne-cucumber mignonette, yuzu bubbles, and beluga caviar, by Barton G. in Miami and Los Angeles