As we enter the thick of the corporate holiday party season, here are some ideas and resources for food, entertainment, gifts, and more.
1. Ferruccio Laviani's Cindy candle lamp, designed for Kartell and available through Contemporary Furniture Rentals, has a conical lampshade, a rounded teardrop base, and a shiny chromelike finish. The table lamp comes in a range of holiday-appropriate matte metallic tones, including red, green, gunmetal, gold, silver, and blue.
2. Designer Marla Brown of Marla Brown Home offers a range of ideas for holiday flowers and decor on her newly launched Web site, including a Manzanita tree centrepiece adorned with hanging boxes suitable for holding sweets (think kettle corn or candy canes). The Manzanita tree comes with a glass vase and river rocks for a rental fee of $85; the hanging boxes, which come with precut ribbons, cost $36 for 12.
3. Allyson Meredith and Sarah Bell of Bobbette & Belle have a range of holiday-themed sweets at their newly opened Leslieville shop. Treats include seasonal ice-wine boxes filled with the company's signature French macaroons (priced at $30 for a box of 12) and letterpress hand-painted shortbread cookies, wrapped with a ribbon and priced at $4.50 each.
4. Michelle Hunt and Laura Panter, founders of the Martini Club, can create custom holiday cocktails—with names like Sleigh Bells, Holiday in Paradise, and Prancer and Vixen—and provide professionally trained mixologists for corporate events. Cocktail catering for parties of 100 starts at $20 per person.
5. Singer Debi Sander Walker of Debi Sander Walker Entertainment can provide a variety of costumed characters for office parties, including a trio called the Jingle Belles and the Winter Wonderland Readers. Pricing starts at $200 and varies depending on the nature of the entertainment program requested.
6. Corporate groups looking to plan a last-minute holiday get-together can visit the outdoor Ice Skating Trail at Evergreen Brick Works as of December 18. The new addition to the Brick Works is set within the venue's 20,000-square-foot garden. The trail is available for private bookings after 4 p.m. and can be rented for $1,500. Small groups can attend the free public skating sessions. Skate rentals are not available on site.
7. Festive ruby red martini glasses and wine goblets are available to rent through Chair-Man Mills. The 16-ounce wineglasses are priced at $2.25 each, and the 9-ounce martini glasses are $3.
