Christmas Entertaining at home

Christmas time blog




Christmas time is a great time to get together with families or friends, but how to add some excitement without breaking the bank, or spending the day cooking?


We have compiled some easy options, some exciting recipes.








Mulled wine is great at Christmas, especially warmed up, check here for a fab recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8143/mulled-wine-cocktail or why not grab a readymade bottle at your local supermarket, co op have bottles for only £3, you could even just pour this into a saucepan and simmer on the hob, no one will ever know.




The Classic Snowball.


Buy a bottle of Advacaat or similar brand, Add 1 1/2 OZ Advocaat, top up with lemonade, on ice cubes,

Add a drop of lime juice, For decoration why not add some whipped cream and cinnamon stick.


An exciting Christmas Cocktail to impress your guests is The Christmas Cookie Cocktail.

Perfect for after dessert, use an equal measure of Baileys, Kahlua (or Tia Maria) and Peppermint Schnapps, add these ingredients in a shaker with plenty of ice, then strain and serve in a chilled martini glass









How about an exciting non alcohol drink, A Mulled apple juice, serve warm to war up the guests, http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13370/mulled-apple-juice










A hot buffet is perfect for guests to pick at, but how not to spend a fortune, add part baked oven rolls, they are cheap but also very effect, have plenty of these with cold meat as fillings & pickles.

Rolls are filling & cheap too.



The Classic jacket potatoes', cheap but filling,







These are hearty and warming, they are perfect for serving a lot of family & friends

http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1046653/brisket-and-cheese-stuffed-jumbo-potatoes-recipe



Love these easy winter canapés






 



These are an old favourite but easy to make & add a bit special to the party.




 
Mix together crème fraiche, horseradish, Tabasco and juice. Spoon a little on each blini, top with salmon and garnish with cress.




Dessert, easy to serve and keep portion control & comes across a bit quirky, serve your guests dessert in a glass.
Desserts are always fab served in glasses, a bit posh hotel, this recipe can be made to suit.

http://thecozyapron.com/cozy-cameo-rich-dark-and-handsome/



















Why not make these with the children, edible snowballs, easy to make & yummy too, there are a few easy variations of the recipes.


Some easy desserts get the kids to help and make these up


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/snowballs-i/





Have a very Merry Christmas, Make life easy for your self.

Last tip, buy some lovely looking mince pies, take out from silver foil wraps and place in the oven to warm, lightly dust with some icing sugar & serve on a cake stand, scoop some shop bought brandy butter into a pretty sugar bowl... oh you the domestic goddess.



Save time, money & stress this Christmas





FunkyLush Events offer a bar staff, waitress hire service perfect for those bigger house parties, see previous blog



www.funkylushevents.co.uk

Brighton Charity Ball 2014

Our friend Michelle De la Motte Rice very sadly lost her young daughter Lola, aged 2 years 8 months, in 2006 to a Brain Tumour. Michelle owns a wonderful business called Gifts for Angels which makes and sells beautiful graveside ornaments & vases in bright funky colours. We collaborated on an idea for a money raising event, a fantastic beautiful ball, we named it The Brighton Charity Ball. We sourced the beautiful Clarence Suite with adjoining Lancaster Suite at the The Brighton Hilton, as our venue, a truly magnificent room with chandeliers hanging from a high arched ceiling, which in a former life was a Catholic Church & then a Casino.

Various companies were approached for sponsorship, the idea being that these funds would pay for everything we needed for the evening, from ticket printing to entertainment, friends & family also provided sponsorship funds.

Profile Model Management of London became our main sponsor (Michelle had been an employee at Profile) and McRoreys Removals of Scotland also made a substantial contribution towards the sponsorship funds.

We sold tickets with a margin made on each ticket, being the difference between the charge made by The Brighton Hilton for the meal and the selling price to guests. FunkyLush Events provided their services free of charge & Michelle did not get paid either. We worked hard at promoting the event and managed to sell a staggering 143 tickets The menu was chosen carefully and we cajoled & hassled people for raffle prizes, and were lucky enough to get  some incredible prizes, including a Ski holiday, Fresh water pearls, £200 Marks & Spencer Voucher, an Ice Bar London Voucher and Lily Allen Tickets to name but a few.

Goody bags were sourced for each table, donated by Brighton's Toni & Guy Hairdressers. Various local companies paid into the sponsorship fund to have their flyers in the goody bags which also included items such as Brighton Rock & beautiful candles, high end magazines & other promotional gifts.  

FunkyLush Events designed and decorated the room which looked absolutely stunning. We also organised all the place names and table layouts taking care that everyone was sat in a place that would appeal to them.  

By the time we had finished The Clarence Suite looked amazing, The DJ had set up & the bands equipment was on the stage, and we hired the lovely ostrich feathers & lit up vases from Dazzling Décor which gave the room a real WOW factor!

The night started with guests being greeted by 2 showgirls, they looked amazing in their feathers.

We had the lovely Michelle Bowdidge from Brain Tumour research at the entrance table with my neice Jema. The photographers Blue Dawg Photography snapped the guests looking splendid in their finery. A welcome drink was served to each guest on arrival.

We mingled in the Lancaster suite, where guests were able to view our fantastic auction table, check the classically designed seating plan and for a small donation, use the photo booth, provided by www.photochambers.co.uk . All the money taken throughout the evening from the photo booth was given to Brain tumour Research.

 

Guests were seated for 8pm when Michelle De la Motte Rice gave an introduction speech, followed by a speech by Michelle Bowdidge of Brain Tumour Research. Michelle explained where the money raised would be going. Brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer deaths in the young - and yet very much under funded.

 

A delightful three course meal was served by the Hilton staff, Sussex tartlet for the starter followed by topside of beef for main with mustard mash & leeks, and completed by a delightful dessert Brighton Mess desert, pink cream , meringue & red berries all served with plenty of wine on the table. Coffee & tea finished off the meal.

 

 

Brighton's very own Matthew Vankan sang tunes from Frank Sinatra & Nat King Cole amongst others, and soon had guests on the dance floor. 

 

 

The Showgirls sold many raffle tickets & we raised an impressive £1985 on the raffle.

Brighton Soul Revue played some funky soul tunes & everyone enjoyed dancing to their live music.

We had an auction table located by the bar with lists of bids, these bids on only 4 lots went crazy and we took a total of £820, and much appreciate the donors of the items which included a preen designer dress.

 

At 11pm we called the raffle, the donated prizes were all fantastic.

 

Then we partied with tunes from DJ Marc James until the small hours.

 

We cannot thank everyone enough with a total just toppled over £6000 all for

Brain Tumour Research

 

Please take time to read information about Brain Tumour Research & the great work they do.

 

You can also donate via Just Giving

 

For more information on Event Management  please view our website, and if would you like an event like similar to this, perhaps a corporate event, please contact  www.vivacious-events.co.uk

 

For more information on Gifts for Angels please visit www.giftsforangels.co.uk

 

 

 October 2014 copyright of funkylush events & weddings

 

 

Welcome drinks for events or weddings by FunkyLush Events & Weddings

The traditional welcome drink of cava, champagne or bucks fizz is traditional & guests often expect it, But maybe it is not fitting to your event or wedding.

Add Strawberry or raspberry puree to champagne to make a Kir Royale, attach a strawberry & already we have something a little different. still oozing class.

 

 

 

 Mini wine bottles with straws are perfect for those wanting to add a touch of fun whilst still keeping with tradition.. great for hen parties.

It doesn't always have to be alcohol, Love these test tube style slush puppies, actually add some vodka in that & great for grown ups. colourful too.

Having a summer wedding or event outside then a refreshing Mojito with fresh mint will welcome your guests in style.

                  Pimms is a popular summer welcome drink, with chunks of fresh fruit too.

 

Love this help your self ready made cocktail idea, made in little jars and awaiting guests in an ice bucket, quirky & exciting.

 

 

 

Add some glamour to your event or wedding by serving the cocktails early.. Martini.. shaken not stirred

A non alcoholic cocktail, mango juice with crushed ice & a drop of pinapple juice, very fruity

Winter warmers are fun too, Hot chocolate in glass cups or Hot Apple Butter Rum. that will warm the guests up at your winter wedding or event..

 

 

This blog was prepared by FunkyLush events & weddings,

www.funkylushweddings.co.uk

 

contact us for a no obligation quote,  we just love thinking differently.

 



Country Garden English Wedding

A summertime English country garden wedding, requires flowers, lots of pretty flowers, pastel colours, bunting & tea cups

 

White cotton & lace, hair down and hand tied flowers.

 

                                 Cakes with strawberries and fresh cream, not too formal.
                                         Rose petals for guests to use as confetti,

                     Marquee or garden venue, village hall, with lots of flowers in jam jars,

 

Tea cups and saucers as place settings too,

 

twee and English, roses or peonies.

 

If you would like us to help style your wedding or event contact us on www.funkylushweddings.co.uk

 

Adur Homes Fun Day

It was a great opportunity for us to help at the Adur Homes Fun Day, Adur Homes looks after the council homes for Adur council, they had rebranded and wanted a fun day, They contacted us as it was getting a bit crazy but they didn't have money to spend, we wanted the experience so agreed,
We contacted so many companies to ask if they would like to sponsor event, this would then  pay for the event,
We were lucky to get Jacobs Steel local estate agents and local jewellers Darren Ross to sponsor, we sold stall pitches to local companies and the team at Adur homes also booked bands and dancers. The idea was for the event to feel community spirited and have lots of interest and fun things,
The fun fair was provided by Dave Hunt leisure, we had food stalls and an ice cream booth.
After lots of planning with Adur homes, we arrived early on the Sunday morning and helped set up,
Stall holders arrived and were directed into pitches, in hindsight the layout could've been better as the field is huge, and ideally more stalls and maybe cheaper to get more, but with these events you can only learn and develop from them. The Adur homes staff were fantastic too,
People came and enjoyed themselves, the music was great too, and it didn't rain, There was a beer tent with real local ale too.
We learnt a lot and would feel happy to organise and plan another one of these, but how do we plan the weather to stay nice ?

Professional bar service at a private venue

 

At Funkylush Events we don’t always organise the whole event, we are very versatile, and are happy to provide any specific service our client needs. On this occasion we were asked to manage a free bar at an engagement party where the couple were using their own home in Brighton. Our service also included welcoming our clients’ guests on arrival to the party and serving them with a delicious glass of Bellini, a stylish mix of champagne and peach snaps.

The house was generous in size, with a beautiful conservatory & garden, our bar was situated in the extensive kitchen and guests were able to ask for their drinks but not be charged. This makes the event far more controlled and of course, adds an element of style and professionalism to the evening. FunkyLush Events as always, wore our smart branded uniforms, black shirts with our embroidered logo, and we had two younger girls also in uniform who served the welcome drinks and collected glasses.

During the evening we set out a tequila area, which proved very popular, and this of course included salt and lemon.

Keeping the bar managed, stocking up on ice & keeping everything clean and tidy, the party looked great fun and was still in full swing when we left at midnight, with all glasses washed and in a position where guests could then help their selves. Our attendance helped make the whole event stress free and enjoyable for our client and their guests, and it was a real pleasure to be part of such a great occasion. We received some great feedback from our client too which is always very much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

A stunning wedding reception set up

What do you do when you are using a venue that’s a working cafe but closes especially for your wedding breakfast? Could a guest perhaps step in and quickly set everything up? But of course, you want all your guests at your wedding ceremony. This was the situation our couple found themselves in, so in we stepped.

The Worthing Beach Lido Cafe is on a normal day, a quintessentially traditional seaside cafe with views out to sea, with classic blue and white plastic style checked table clothes & old wooden chairs, and with the feel of a bygone seaside era.

So at 3pm on the day of the wedding we entered the cafe with our table plan for 103 guests in hand. We found that some cafe customers were still casually eating their food but we had to get going and started to re-arrange the tables in the bride’s order, a top table with 3 prongs each with seating either side (this way everyone could see the happy couple).

We had two and a half hours to complete the setting up and transformation from a simple cafe to a stunning wedding breakfast room. This time frame given the task that was ahead of us, is not as long as it sounds, the tables were varied in size and it became like a giant 3D puzzle, the Cafe owner Karl was able to assist during this part of the operation. We then had a huge 30 metre ream of white linen which was near enough the exact measurement of the tables, so we measured and cut the table cloth linen very carefully to ensure every last inch could be used.

Jars of fresh baby breath & lilacs had been left for us to sporadically place on the tables along with baby blue lanterns, places were laid and there was a personalised stick of rock for each of the guests. Then came the place names, cute little boats with a name on each sail, luckily they had been bagged by each table prong, the clock was ticking and we managed to get these all out and fill them with little mints.

The dance floor was cleared and a welcome table for presents was put in place which we managed to cover with the very last of the white table cloth linen. Just as we were finishing the wedding party arrived....15 minutes early, as always we were wearing our Funkylush uniforms, and managed to slip out of the venue as discreetly as possible, but it’s always nice to see the guests wow at the room. The transformation was beautiful, & our happy couple looked gorgeous too.