Make Time Before the Holidays for a Friendship Feast

For women everywhere, the approaching holidays will bring joy always, anxiety often, and chaos certainly. Between straightening guest rooms and juggling the wild array of events this season brings, your self-care rituals might take flight right through your freshly scrubbed windows. Our advice? Grab your nearest and dearest friends and sneak away for a civilized celebration before the pressures of the season take over. See how planner and stylist Genevieve Tharp of Events Northwest gathered her tribe--including sisters Venise Cunningham of Simple Goodness Farm and Belinda Kelly, owner of the mobile bar Happy Camper Cocktail Company--for a memorable feast in Washington.

Don’t forget to set up space and reserve plenty of time to linger over a cozy drink (alcoholic or not) and relish good company. To keep things cost-effective, leverage the talent and resources from your inner circle. For this celebration, mobile bar entrepreneur Belinda Kelly brought her 1957 Aladdin camper-turned-bar to mix craft cocktails inspired by the gathering. Come dessert, the bar lounge doubled as a cozy coffee spot.

Infuse your event with quality details. An easy-to-make simple syrup in a seasonal flavor and cocktails designed around it are a huge hit. Continuing the theme of collaborating on a homegrown celebration, sisters and business partners Venise and Belinda brought their “garden-to-glass” Simple Goodness Sisters drink syrups to add cheer to cocktails served. The sisters mixed a fig cocktail featuring rhubarb-vanilla bean syrup and a festive float of champagne.

A special gathering wouldn't be complete without flowers. When your girl-gang talents come up short on florals, call in a favor. Tharp’s pal, Shane Meehan of Oak and Fig Floral, donated blooms to their rustic, joyful day. Or, if your budget is limited, forage varied textures, such as pampas grass and dried wheat, from the area around you. Give your arrangements life and movement by working with bright but natural textures and tones.

Everyone you know has something to bring to the proverbial, or literal, table. Design the meal as a potluck that allows each guest to add their unique contribution and tastes to the experience. Venise volunteered her delectable farm-raised, honey-roasted ham for the feast.

Eating together as a community has countless benefits to one’s wellbeing.  It gives you the opportunity to leave the woes of the day behind, pass a dish, and share sparkling conversation and smiles. The strain of the season will melt away faster than the butter on those golden mashed potatoes. Local cohorts Puget Sound Farm Tables and Fiona Louise Design provided a resting place to nourish bellies and souls simultaneously.

When it comes to setting the table, leave the cobwebby notion of a “proper” place setting behind, and instead work with what you have. Have everyone bring a dish to share. Dig through the silverware drawer until you successfully find 8 dinner forks. Bring your children outside to help harvest greenery that can be used as a natural table runner. Let the whole scene be perfectly imperfect and take comfort in the communal creation of the setting.

Genevieve Tharp, planner and stylist behind Events Northwest, tells us that any size affair should be filled with “genuine moments and unique touches,” as reflected in the personalized wood-burned coasters seen here. Know your theme and glean inspiration from the atmosphere you are trying to create. Initials and monograms are a great example of simple ways to add personalization that will prompt a second glance.

Most of us are so busy snapping photos of our kids that we have all but disappeared from our phones’ camera rolls, and the chance to play dress up is a fun departure from the everyday and result in one-of-a-kind mementos. Standing in her 100-year-old Eatonville barn, photographer and feast attendee Rylea Foehl had a vision for taking vintage, western-style portrait shots of the guests. A similar setup is easy to DIY—all you need are some rustic ensembles and simple props.

This is the time to treat yourself and indulge, so don’t skip dessert! Is there anything more enticing than a caramel buttercream chocolate cake as the centerpiece of your communal table? This show-stopping confection was created by guest Natalie Vorpahl of Peach Pit Cakery; she also brought along spiced chai shortbread cookies, perfect for dunking in that after-meal coffee. Credits: Styling, Events Northwest. Photography, Rylea Foehl Photography. Cocktails, Happy Camper Cocktail Company. Simple Syrup, Simple Goodness Sisters. Wine, Gallaghers Where U Brew. Florals, Oak & Fig Floral. Desserts, Peach Pit Cakery. Table & Benches. Puget Sound Farm Tables. Rental Chairs, Fiona Louise Design.