2015 Holiday Party Ideas

November 24, 2015

At a party celebrating the Toms for Target partnership in Los Angeles last year, colorful nonalcoholic drinks were presented in glass decanters.

Photo: David Crotty/PatrickMcMullan.com

At the How I Met Your Mother holiday party in Los Angeles at Fox Studios in December 2013, the show's cast and crew ate and played at a gingerbread-decorating station set up by Marina del Ray-based Schaffer's Genuine Foods.

Photo: Courtesy of Schaffer's Genuine Foods

"Budgets for signature drinks are on the rise again. We are getting a lot of requests for welcome beverages for corporate events, especially with the huge cocktail craze," says Steve Sanchez, chief marketing officer at Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based catering and events company JDK Group.

Photo: Seth Nenstiel

The Morning After

Guests can recover from one too many cocktails with the Original HangOver Kit Kup. The 22-ounce reusable cup contains mini packs of brand-name remedies like Pepto-Bismol, Propel drink mix, Drinkwel multivitamins, Alka-Seltzer, Bayer aspirin, Colgate toothpaste and toothbrush, LA Fresh travel wipes, and breath mints. The kits are sold in cases of 6 ($50) or 12 ($90).

Photo: Courtesy of Distinct Impressions

7. Limewood

In October, Claremont Club & Spa’s restaurant Limewood will become available for private events. The Berkeley hotel introduced Limewood in August. Led by chef Joseph Humphrey, Limewood offers California cuisine with local, seasonal ingredients. The restaurant has two private dining rooms. The first room is separated from the main dining room by a floor-length curtain, and can seat as many as 12 guests at one table and 14 guests at separate tables. The second room features a longer conference table that can accommodate as many as 14 guests. These rooms combined can hold 26 guests at one long table.

Photo: Hillary Tenzing

L.A. Burdick Chocolate offers a selection of corporate gifting options, including almost-too-cute-to-eat mice—which are available in dark, milk, and white chocolate and feature toasted almond ears and silk tails—as well as penguins made with whipped dark chocolate and lemon ganache filling. Pricing ranges from $16 for a classic gift box to $1,000 for a treasure chest filled with sweets.

Photo: Tom Moore