Take a Deep Breath
Spoil a select few with customized fragrances from perfumer Bond No. 9. Six to twelve guests work with the shop’s staff for two hours to determine which essences they prefer, and assist in tweaking existing perfumes—creating their very own potions. Custom blending isn’t cheap, though—the cost is $250 per person, which includes the choice of a bottle and pump for the personalized concoction.
Revisit the Classics
Creative Edge Parties suggests a series of small plates, from reinterpreted holiday fare like turkey and stuffing club sandwiches filled with sautéed cabbage and served with yellow cranberry sauce, to a new spin on French fries: breaded and fried slivers of mushroom served with crispy herbs.
Take a Dip
Put festive holiday drinks in glasses rimmed with crushed peppermint candy from the Stirrings line of cocktail mixers and flavored concoctions. The candies retail for $5.95 and the drink mix retails for $10.95.
Stage a Show
Quirky chanteuse Rachelle Garniez performs a variety of music styles, including old-school jazz, gypsy-infused swing, klezmer, and New Orleans style rhythm and blues. A solo show in New York starts at $800.
Let It Ride
Ride the poker trend with sharp gambling tables made with solid mahogany, soft leather, and brass accents from Smash Party Entertainment. The company can supply dealers, a tournament director, and customized chips, and start the party with a tutorial. Costs begin around $2,000.
Be Old-Fashioned
The Merchant’s House Museum, a lovely Federal-style town house built in 1832, will be decorated for the holidays for events throughout December. The house’s double parlors can accommodate seated dinners for 40, or its garden-level dining room and rustic kitchen may be used for receptions for 125. Tours of the house can be incorporated into parties.
Seek Clarity
Dot tables and bars with icy-looking clear vases from Props for Today. These slender etched glass containers in two heights, 18 inches and 27 inches, rent for $25 to $35 apiece.
Make Them Bake
Fill the party with the scent of fresh cookies from Milk & Cookies Bakery, a new West Village bakeshop that sends staffers with portable convection ovens to bake cookies on-site. Guests can even design their own dozen variations—adding nuts, chocolate, fruits, or candies to various types of dough—starting at $14 per person.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photos: Jean-Marie Guyaux (Rachelle Garniez), Madeleine Isom (Merchant's House Museum)
Posted 09.26.05
Spoil a select few with customized fragrances from perfumer Bond No. 9. Six to twelve guests work with the shop’s staff for two hours to determine which essences they prefer, and assist in tweaking existing perfumes—creating their very own potions. Custom blending isn’t cheap, though—the cost is $250 per person, which includes the choice of a bottle and pump for the personalized concoction.
Revisit the Classics
Creative Edge Parties suggests a series of small plates, from reinterpreted holiday fare like turkey and stuffing club sandwiches filled with sautéed cabbage and served with yellow cranberry sauce, to a new spin on French fries: breaded and fried slivers of mushroom served with crispy herbs.
Take a Dip
Put festive holiday drinks in glasses rimmed with crushed peppermint candy from the Stirrings line of cocktail mixers and flavored concoctions. The candies retail for $5.95 and the drink mix retails for $10.95.
Stage a Show
Quirky chanteuse Rachelle Garniez performs a variety of music styles, including old-school jazz, gypsy-infused swing, klezmer, and New Orleans style rhythm and blues. A solo show in New York starts at $800.
Let It Ride
Ride the poker trend with sharp gambling tables made with solid mahogany, soft leather, and brass accents from Smash Party Entertainment. The company can supply dealers, a tournament director, and customized chips, and start the party with a tutorial. Costs begin around $2,000.
Be Old-Fashioned
The Merchant’s House Museum, a lovely Federal-style town house built in 1832, will be decorated for the holidays for events throughout December. The house’s double parlors can accommodate seated dinners for 40, or its garden-level dining room and rustic kitchen may be used for receptions for 125. Tours of the house can be incorporated into parties.
Seek Clarity
Dot tables and bars with icy-looking clear vases from Props for Today. These slender etched glass containers in two heights, 18 inches and 27 inches, rent for $25 to $35 apiece.
Make Them Bake
Fill the party with the scent of fresh cookies from Milk & Cookies Bakery, a new West Village bakeshop that sends staffers with portable convection ovens to bake cookies on-site. Guests can even design their own dozen variations—adding nuts, chocolate, fruits, or candies to various types of dough—starting at $14 per person.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photos: Jean-Marie Guyaux (Rachelle Garniez), Madeleine Isom (Merchant's House Museum)
Posted 09.26.05
Stirrings
Rachelle Garniez
Merchant's House Museum
Props for Today
