'Tis the Season to be SOCIAL!

Fifi's Restaurant

Holiday Luncheon & Fashion Show

featuring Elegant Rags Boutique

Thursday, December 10th

11:30 Social Hour

12:30 Fashion Show & Luncheon

$23/ person

Reservations 419-866-6777

http://www.fifisrestaurant.com/

Toledo Opera Guild Holiday House

"Walk the Hills"

Thursday, December 10th

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Starting location: Wildwood Metropark's Ward Pavilion, 4830 Central Ave.

Tickets: $18.00 before December 10th @ Kroger Stores

or http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=184730920910&ref=mf

or Toledo Opera Guild Office

$30.00 at the Ward Pavilion

The Toledo Club's
Holiday Christmas Trees

Public Viewing December 7th & 8th, 15th & 16th

Contact: Nancy LaFountaine

Catering & Banquet Manager

419-254-2981

nlafountaine@toledoclub.org

 

Toledo Botanical Garden's

Heralding the Holidays 

The garden in winter, an array of locally made gifts to choose from, spiced cider, hot chocolate and a visit from St. Nick!

Resident artists’ groups will demonstrate techniques and sell their work.

5-9 p.m. Dec. 4th

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 5th

and noon-5 Dec. 6th

Toledo Botanical Garden, 5403 Elmer Dr.

(419) 536-5566 or http://www.toledogarden.org/.

Fire & Ice

Firenation Holiday Party

Saturday, December 12th

7 - 10 p.m.

7166 Front Street, Holland, Ohio

(419) 866-6288

Tours de Noel

Old West End Historic Home Tours

Five Old West End homes, decorated for the holidays, will be open for lookie-lous and idea-seekers; plus, a gift boutique at Park Lane Luxury Apartments (142 23rd St.) will be open, Cafe at the Park will serve meals and entertainment will permeate the day.

Dec. 6th

Noon-7p.m.

Historic Old West End, Collingwood Boulevard and Bancroft and Monroe streets.

$3-$15.

(419) 244-4921 or www.womenoftheoldwestendinc.com/.

Holidays in the Manor House

Area groups and individuals decorate for the season in “one of Toledo’s grandest homes.”

 Dec. 6th - 13th 

10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Wildwood Preserve Metropark, 5100 W. Central Ave.

(419) 535-3056.

Wood County Historical Center

Holiday Melting Pot Christmas Tour & Tea

Enjoy the sights and sounds of holidays gone by with a special menu of

International Teas and goodies.

Dec. 10 and 17

2 p.m.

13660 County Home Road, Bowling Green.

$20.

(419) 352-0967 or http://www.woodcountyhistory.org/.

Toledo Zoo's

Lights Before Christmas

So many lights, you’ll think it’s daytime. Or dusk, at least.

Illuminated animal images, an 85-foot tree more incandescent than the one at Rockefeller, ice-carving demonstrations, carolers, model trains, “dancing lights” and the Man in Red™ make this event a Toledo tradition.

5-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 5-10 p.m. Fridays-Sundays

through Dec. 31 (closed Dec. 24-25),

2700 Broadway

$7-$10.

(419) 385-4040 or toledozoo.org

Cheers!

Whether you need a cocktail to get through the stress of making dinner

or the craziness of hosting dinner,

here are a few delish savers!

Pumpkin Pie

- 1 oz. Malibu Rum
- 3/4 oz. canned pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 oz. Kahlua
- 2 oz. with cold milk
Garnish: sprinkle of cinnamon
Mix ingredients in blender with ice and blend thoroughly;
Pour into graham cracker-rimmed highball glass and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Pumpkin French 75

- 1 oz. Plymouth Gin
- 1 oz. Pumpkin Puree
- 1 1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon juice
- 1 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
- Champagne
Shake all ingredients (except Champagne) in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Strain the mixture into a Champagne flute.
Top with chilled Champagne and serve.

Cranberry Punch

- 2 cups red wine
- 1 cup vodka
- 1/4 cup spiced rum
- 1/2 cup Ocean Spray Ruby Tangerine Grapefruit Juice Drink, chilled

- 2 cups Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry Raspberry Cranberry Juice Drink, chilled
- 1/2 cup green or red grapes, sliced in half
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 apple, sliced
- 1 cup sparkling water or club soda

Combine wine, vodka, spiced rum and juices in a punch bowl.
Add fruit and chill. Add sparking water just before serving.
Makes approximately 10 5-ounce servings.

Credit: www.cocktailtimes.com

In the hustle and bustle of planning your Thanksgiving menu and table decor, don't forget about the infamous "kiddie table". In order to ensure a pleasurable meal with the "adults" at your Thanksgiving feast, be sure to create a table that is sure to hold their attention and interest. Make the table crafty, and add crafts and activities along with it.

Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- No linens needed. Drape the table in large craft paper and add crayons to their tablesettings.
- Or if you are on the go for Thanksgiving, bring some coloring book-style place matts so they can add their own style to their meal.
- While you're cooking, have the kids make crafty place settings and napkin rings. See some of my favorites above. Some of the best are made with items around the house or yard like TP rolls and pine cones.
- Make turkey-leg party hats with paper bags or tall pilgrim hats with craft paper.
- Save the China for the adults. Pottery Barn Kids and other homestores have charming plates to enhance the atmosphere at the table.

Whether your kids are 2 or 99, it will surely be a hit!

     Lighting is the strongest medium available to event designers that enables them to transform a space into an exciting, elegant and dramatic environment. There are many areas to use lighting such as centerpeices, floral arrangements, dance floors, bars, and stages. But my favorite is to color wash a space! The purpose color washing is to ensure that guests can see each other and look great, and the food looks appetizing. The room should never be too dark, yet nothing is worse than going to an event that has their house lighting cranked up 100 percent. I love anyting in the apricot color family: its great on the complexion, flattering in photos, yet the still food looks scrumptious, the crystals and gems beam, and the room has a warm glow that makes guests feel comfortable.

     Many think of lighting as a dispensable extra in the budget. But more clients are looking to lighting to replace other decor elements that are more expensive.

      White pumpkins are sophisticated, elegant and add a festive fall touch to a white wedding. People have been making jack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.
    I am Irish and my husband is part Scottish. So for our fall wedding, we gathered our families the Thursday before to carve white pumpkins, which were then displayed at the entrance of our reception, "to frighten away the evil spirits" and bring us good luck.

Click here to find a pumpkin patch near you:
http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/OHptoledo.php

A tasty Fall treat!

If you’re looking for something fun and unique to bring to a fall party, this is your wine! Leelanau Wines secret recipe made with cinnamon, cloves and other natural spices. It's like a winter sangria on those chilly nights. Warm it gently by the glass or try a "witches brew" by simmering the wine in a crock pot with a cinnamon stick! 

Serve it warm as a dessert wine with some dark chocolate. Or before dinner to set the mood of your party!

Take a tip from Martha and create this pumpkin punch bowl to serve your "witches brew"!http://www.marthastewart.com/article/punch-bowl-prop-how-to?&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/tricks-and-treats?#slide_6