Joy To Your World
It’s the most wonderful time of the year indeed! We had the pleasure of once again styling our dear client, The Hallmark Channel’s, Countdown to Christmas event. Which they put on every year for staff, clients, and their families. It’s truly my favorite event of the year!
The party always takes place at the Porter House restaurant in Columbus Circle, because the restaurant sits right along the parade route! It’s truly perfect because guests can get a front row view of the Hallmark Channel’s float each year.
The thing with styling the same event in the same space each year, is that you have to get creative on how to make the space feel “new”. Many of those who attend, have been coming to the party for years - so they know what to expect!
This year, there wasn’t a specific theme - it was just classic Christmas vibes, but there was a few key elements from their branding that we brought through in the design!
Starting strong with our grand entryway moment! In one of our early meetings, we were shown this cardboard box constructed mock up, for the Christmas cruise they put on. And we ran with that idea here… the thing was that the boxes didn’t exist, nor did the patterns to match! So Maggie reconstructed the patterns using their design elements, and then we had the boxes custom printed in 7 patterns. For the topper, we had our fabrication partner, T+J Set Design, make them to match the Hallmark crown symbol. It came together better than we could have imagined!
One of the other fun design elements we got to incorporate was this custom font they had made by a Kansas City typographist. We made this gorgeous “Joy to Your World” archway for over the doorway - which is subtle theme for the event and overall branding for this year.
Then to accent the display, we added in this Santa sleigh, which could actually fit a child! Santa sack, and Holiballs! Which came from our shop! You can shop them here.
Inside the restaurant, we worked with our fabulous florist: Harry J Designs. He does the event with us each and every year, and knows all the work that it takes to put this event on! He did an absolutely amazing job with the flowers, and you know as the flower person on our team… I can be picky!
One of the elements we incorporated for the first time last year were these napkin ring holders, which we brought back but in a new style! The guests go crazy over these and rightfully so! They are so cute and add an extra festive touch to each table setting.
One of our more dramatic decor elements we used across the whole event were these XL bottle brush trees. They were an element in the branding for this year, and brought a little wow moment to any corner we styled them in!
It’s a Christmas event, so of course we had to have our hot cocoa bar. This year, we recreated these cookies as exact replicas from our branding guide, and the guests LOVED them. I have to say - it really brought the table to the next level!
I could go on and on, about all the special details we include for this event. It’s really so magical and fun to put together. All the details make the space feel like home, and set the tone for the start of the holiday season. We cannot wait to see what next year will bring!!