10 Best Ideas of the Week: A Speakeasy Holiday Party, Real Snowmen in Los Angeles, a Gingerbread House on Wheels, and More

Aerial performers poured champagne for guests at the National Association for Catering & Events holiday party Monday at the Vault in downtown Tampa. The party had a speakeasy theme: guests received the address and password after they registered for the event, and entertainment from Event Show Productions included burlesque dancers and actors playing poker. Vendors included event planning and execution by Sandy Rule; decor, furniture, and lighting by MMD Events; draping by Quest Drape; and catering by Good Food Catering.

A white Christmas came early in Los Angeles—a city not normally associated with snowfall. MagicSnow produced the largest amount of manmade snow ever created for the “12 Days of Play” event Thursday at Mattel's world headquarters. The more than 370 tons of real snow was part of a Guinness Book of World Records attempt to build the most snowmen in an hour. Over a span of more than six hours in 70-degree weather, MagicSnow used four industrial-size snow-making machines to create enough snow to cover five acres and build more than 1,200 snowmen.

The Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker-themed event in Chicago December 15 had an array of “creation stations” for the young guests in attendance. A long line formed at the Gum Drop Graffiti Station, where artists from RNR Airbrushing and apparel personalized Nutcracker T-shirts.

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s gala, an event that was rescheduled when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, took place at the art institution’s Upper East Side home on December 11. To decorate the bare white walls of the museum, designer David Stark used black painter’s tape to create urban street scenes and shapes.

Kapture Vision produced a holiday bash with a masquerade ball theme for CyberCoders on December 15 at Newport Beach Dunes Resort in Newport Beach, California. Fire dancers and stilt walkers greeted guests, who entered into a black, gold, and purple space illuminated by 10 crystal chandeliers.

At the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s gala, which celebrated the organization's 20th anniversary, guests could pose for photos behind an oversize golden picture frame. The event, which drew 600 guests to the JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts December 8, raised a record $1.3 million for research and care at Sylvester. Shiraz Events provided decor.

To promote its new app and a partnership with Toys for Tots, EBay created a holiday pop-up in New York that invited consumers to donate gifts by scanning QR codes.

To celebrate the release of Girls season one on Blu-ray—and to hype the second season, which begins January 13—HBO hosted a cocktail party at Toronto's House of Moments December 4. A so-called "Instagram hotspot," where guests were encouraged to snap photos, had a backdrop based on Central Park in New York City, where the show takes place.

On Monday, guests enjoyed Mexican-themed fare and festive holiday decor at Project Art, a silent art auction and cocktail party held at 82 Mercer in New York. The fund-raiser was put on by the non-profit Project Paz, which promotes after-school activities for the children of Ciudad Juarez, one of Mexico’s most violent cities.

As a thank-you gesture to its clients, television network ION built a mobile entertainment and gift suite shaped like a giant gingerbread house. The oversize version of the traditional Christmas baked good parked outside New York ad agencies, inviting executives inside the house to fill boxes with candy, snap photos, and watch TV programs.