tiki central hoity holiday party

since Sabu pointed out that Christmas is just around the corner...:wink:

I thought I'd throw this out now so I can plan.
I will host a Hoity Holiday Party. I talked about it last year but never made arrangements due to lack of interest. We will have a gift swap too.
But there are some things I'd like to know before I make arrangements for our holiday party.

How many will attend?
Please post if you will be there. If there is a lot of interest, we can have it at Bahooka (I think this is good for OC and LA peeps) or another tiki spot, if only a few people want to do this, I will host at my pad in North Orange County.

If we choose a restaurant do we want to do dinner together or leave that up to individuals?
we may get food and/or drinks at a discount but this also may require a deposit.

Dates? I know many have company parties, etc. I'm even open to a week night dinner type thing.

lastly, the gift swap; do we want to do white elephant, strictly tiki, home made, or anything goes?
Price limit?

So tell me your thoughts on any and/or all questions. Most inportantly, let me know if you're in! I'm leaving the questions up a month. Then I'll start planning or working on the house.

Yule tide tiki baby!
Ungas in! I will be down there for family, during the holidays.
I'll bring the fruit cake. :D
Here is a lttle something to get us in the mood.
Click Here

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-10-22 21:07 ]

Santacon is on the 11th. Just thought I'd put that fyi in there...

Having it in OC makes it a little easier for us in SD. Weence and I would love to come. Those gift exchanges are always fun.

I'm in!

Utopiandreem & i would love it!

This sounds great.

Bahookas could be cool. It may be difficult to get people to confirm and pay toward a deposit. It may be best to leave food and drink out of the arrangements. Too many headaches.

Many years ago I went to a Halloween LA Cacophony party at Bahookas. They reserved a big part of the restaurant. They even showed films. Food and drink was up to the individual. The party lasted until closing and everyone had a great time.

Try to stick to a Friday or Saturday night for maximum attendance. Damn the company parties. Full speed ahead!

[ Edited by: Hakalugi on 2004-10-12 10:57 ]

On 2004-10-12 07:48, floratina wrote:
Santacon is on the 11th. Just thought I'd put that fyi in there...

What's Santacon?

Anyway, I'd like to put in my vote for Bahooka! We have a commitment on December 4, but right now the rest of the month is open....

I'm interested, but I can't commit until a date is set, my calendar is all wonky. I'm game for a weekend or a weekday, later in the month is better for me, but don't schedule around me--my schedule is all shifty.

I personally prefer the intimacy of holiday parties in people's homes, but I know it can be quite a burden for the person hosting, so I'm open to doing it in a restaurant, too. If we're left to our own devices to get ourselves properly fed at a restaurant, I think that'll be cleaner & easier for everyone involved.

Re: gifts, my preference would be to not do them at all, or only do them for the kids, but if we are going to do gifts, what about tiki-themed handmade-by-the-giver gifts, in a sort of pre-arranged Secret Santa style? I don't have a need for another random object, even if it's tiki--if there are going to be presents at all, I'd rather it was something more meaningful. I'll happily go along with the desires of the crowd on this one, though.

Laney,

Is this going to be a kid okay event or adult only? (I always like a heads up.)

Many thanks!

Beatnikine

[ Edited by: Beatnikine on 2004-10-12 16:45 ]

[ Edited by: Beatnikine on 2004-10-12 16:46 ]

On 2004-10-12 14:44, ookoo lady wrote:

On 2004-10-12 07:48, floratina wrote:
Santacon is on the 11th. Just thought I'd put that fyi in there...

What's Santacon?

It's an event started by the Cacophony Society.
Basically it's a mob of drunken Santas careening down the sidewalks, stampeding into restaurants and invading any public gathering they can find. Loads of fun!

Here's a brief description:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/SantaCon

http://public.fotki.com/Humuhumu/santacon/

I like this site:

http://www.santarchy.com/

It also appears that Santa may participate in the Doo Dah Parade this year...

[ Edited by: floratina on 2004-10-12 16:38 ]

Humu, I thought of doing a Yankee gift swap (we did this with my family last year at Thanksgiving). If you haven't been to one, here's how it works:

Everyone brings a wrapped gift of a set value.
Everyone in the gift exchange draws a number.
Number 1 chooses a gift, opens it and shows it to everyone.
Number 2 can either steal the opened gift from #1, or choose a wrapped gift and open it.
If #2 steals, #1 chooses another package and opens it.
Number 3 can steal any opened gift, or open a package.

Basic rules:
Once a gift has been stolen 3 times, it's dead and can't be stolen again.
You can't take something right back from the person who stole it from you

it's tons of fun. I think you'd love it and you may come out with something you could use!

As far as kids go. It would be great if kids could be there, however, if it stays pretty small and I host at my house, I may set an age limit.
My house is not small child friendly with the pool and I have an aluminum tree I set up with all my vintage glass and special glass ornaments given to me. I don't know how old your kids are but I have to be careful around it myself. I used to set up 2 aluminum trees and had the 6 ft. fall over on me once. Luckily it only had my 60's plastic and Japan ornaments but it never was the same. So I only do the 4 ft. one but if anything happened to it, I wouldn't be able to replace some of the ornaments. Some were my Grandmothers.

Note: my son grew up going to Estate sales Antique malls and I always hated it when people would not allow kids because he is very good (better than some adults I've had come to my garage sales, break something then put it down quietly). So I'm not saying anyone's kids are bad.

Please keep posting your preferences! Thanks, Laney

[ Edited by: laney on 2004-10-12 17:44 ]

Pencil us in - I think I'd prefer Bahooka, and I'm heavily in favor of no children! I love the idea of handmade tiki-themed gifties in a swap.

Oh Man! Me and my buds are SO In! Is there beer and Slim Jims?

On 2004-10-12 17:41, laney wrote:
My house is not small child friendly with the pool and I have an aluminum tree I set up with all my vintage glass and special glass ornaments given to me. Some were my Grandmothers.

[ Edited by: laney on 2004-10-12 17:44 ]

I just had a horrific vision of my 4 year old crashing through your tree at a rate of about mach 10 with my 8 year old following after. Yikes.

I think I'll find a good sitter instead :wink: Thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it!

(Beautiful collection, btw.)

Beatnikine

[ Edited by: Beatnikine on 2004-10-13 09:56 ]

Instead of exchanging gifts, why don't we donate toys to a charity organization (a good one is Union Rescue Mission) There are lots of children here who never receive gifts and the holiday season is a time to give to those who normally wouldn't receive gifts.

On 2004-10-22 17:07, kuuipo wrote:
Instead of exchanging gifts, why don't we donate toys to a charity organization (a good one is Union Rescue Mission) There are lots of children here who never receive gifts and the holiday season is a time to give to those who normally wouldn't receive gifts.

That is a cool idea!! The only problem I see is that I can't find "bottle bags" for the booze in childrens Christmas wrapping patterens!! :)

On 2004-10-22 18:56, mrsmiley wrote:

On 2004-10-22 17:07, kuuipo wrote:
Instead of exchanging gifts, why don't we donate toys to a charity organization (a good one is Union Rescue Mission) There are lots of children here who never receive gifts and the holiday season is a time to give to those who normally wouldn't receive gifts.

That is a cool idea!! The only problem I see is that I can't find "bottle bags" for the booze in childrens Christmas wrapping patterens!! :)

Check the 99 Cent Only stores, you'll be surprised what you can find there!

Mr and Mrs Bamboo and the Bamboo kids (6 & 9)( but very well behaved) will be there with bells on!!!!!!!! That tree rocks!!

AAARRRRRR!!!

Gift exchanges are always a fun idea - DolphinTiki & I are both up for it, whenever date you settle on.

For your holiday entertainment planning consideration:
--Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Swingin' Holiday Party at the House of Blues Anaheim, Friday, 12/03
--Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza (w/ Royal Crown Review) at the Universal Amphitheatre Saturday, 12/18

We're hittin' both, so if'n you pick one of thoses dates, we'll be there late!

Me and the wifey are in (depending, of course, on the final date). I vote for no gift exchange - I like the charity idea.

Then at the Bahooka (or Sams seafood even) we could simply buy someone else in attendance a drink. Or everyone could buy me a drink. :)

Laney...
Sounds like a cool ule time. Are you gonna do the Boutiki event as well?

MTK

Mrsmiley - that is not a nice thing to say. Have you ever had a young family member who is very ill (i.e., cancer, leukemia (a blood cancer), multiple sclerosis)or maybe you are about "only you" - some of these children are very ill - and these surprise gifts are very healing to them. Maybe you should do some charity work and not think about "alcohol" so much. Oh yea and those bottle bags do hold things other than liquor.

Remember - Hanford's post to TikiBong about his rudeness to new members - well I am a new member and your rudeness was aimed at me. So keep the aloha spirit and be nice.

As the Rev said - "he likes the charity thing" - and yes the 99 cent store does have okay gifts. So bring gifts for these children - and draw a name out of a drink glass and then buy that person a drink. You will benefit both ways

ALOHA!!!

Oops! Sorry I meant Polynesiac posted "he liked the charity idea" Sorry Polynesiac -

and your buy someone a drink idea is great!

Kuuipo, you are on the right track. Keep up the good work.
Mele Kalikimaka!
Aloha!
Mrs. Boo

Why not donate toys to a charity AND have a gift exchange???

Laney, I'd love to attend the party. My only bad weekend is 12/3-12/5. I'll go with the crowd on the gift swap and my teeny wahine's attendance.

OK, I was tossing around 2 dates, Dec.4 and Dec. 18.
Dec. 4th seems to be the best as far as reservations and due to the fact that there are no big events on that day. (tikifille, I hope you can make it even late or early for drinks)
I've decided to meet at Bahooka. I'd love to do dinner and share some bowls with everyone either at a big table or in our own area. I'll need conformations so I can make the reservations.
I'll be starting a new thread so I can keep count. Please respond with # of people so I can keep count.
As far as kids go, it's fine. I'll leave that up to individuals. I plan on bringing my son because he's old enough not to need to be entertained, he loves Bahooka, and can actually help out.

We will be doing the gift swap. I want EVERYONE to participate.

Giving to charity is always a nice thing to do (not only during the holidays, all year) but I will leave that up to individuals, give to your church, charity of choice, or any one of a number of toy drives this season.

You can also feel you are doing your part while participating in the gift swap by purchasing your gift from one of the many thrift stores that give to charity. Or, better yet, support our own Tiki community by getting your gift from one of our own artists or business owners (Ocianic Arts, Tiki Farm, Bamboo Ben's, House of Tiki, etc.)

I'm setting the limit at $15-$20 value. With tiki or Hawaiian themed gifts preferred. I'm also a sucker for funny white elephants, (maybe that's just me) so if you find a good one wrap it up! I'd love to see home made gifts too! If you are really stumped for a gift, e-mail me. I have a few ideas.

Dec. 18 would be great with me.

Krustiki and I will be in Las Vegas on Dec. 4, so we vote for December 18.

We'll be at Brian Setzer on the 18th, so unless we show up really late, the 4th works out the best for DolphinTiki & I (and it gets me out of having to go to my work party that same night...)

Work Xmas party on the 18th for me, 4th will work!

more Santacon photos;
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeBMXDFk2bt3aA