Every year Dave and I throw the annual Hollis Holiday Party and this year’s turned out so beautifully I wanted to share some of the detail shots with y’all. Our theme was “Hipster Coffee Shop” which sounds kind of crazy until you walked in and then it totally made sense.
Leather lounges and seating areas made of reclaimed wood. A barista in the corner whipping up magic in latte-form complete with foam designs. Bartenders muddling drinks and pushing my world famous wassail on each of our guests. A tattoo bar where you could apply your own hipster tattoo and a band that looks and sounds just like Mumford and Sons playing holiday music on the grass. It was magical and fun and so gorgeous. Take a walk through the little details below.
First and foremost, every party I throw has to have a great entrance piece! Just like I did with my 10th Anniversary Party I love when guests walk in and are greeted by something really cool. For this year’s party we recreated the antlers wrapped in lights from the invitation. We attached that to a large reclaimed wood panel and in front of it was a cool old cart that held our canned food donations.
The canned food drive is a tradition my parents started a long time ago. Whenever we have a holiday party we ask our guests to bring non-parishables to the party. I’m proud to tell that Dave and my boys packed up twenty one bags of canned foods that we donated to our local rescue mission.
If you read my post about decorating for the holidays then you know our living room was already decked out. The florist just added bits of details like the greenery to the mantle and the matching piece on the coffee table. We also had small pieces in the guest bathrooms, the buffets, and the dessert table. Basically I put flowers on any solid surface!
On our back patio we set up lounges with both leather chesterfield sofas and small eating areas made of reclaimed wood tables.
My signature drink, the Wassail Sipper is always a big hit… please note the matching cocktail napkins. We also had a larger version of this napkin in the powder rooms to use as disposable hand towels because you know I love to incorporate those into a party!
Since coffee was our theme we weaved it into every piece of decor we could. Bar tables held these little styrofoam cones covered in whole coffee beans.
One of my favorite elements (a genius idea from this lady) was the tattoo station where guests could attach their own hipster tattoo! Such a fun thing to greet guests when they walked into the party.
I hope you liked all the little Hollis Holiday party details and I hope your own holidays are merry and bright! xo, Rachel
Photo Credit: Brian Tropiano
