We’re now in our third year of working with the Hallmark Media team on their annual Countdown to Christmas themed Thanksgiving day parade watch party. This party is the most fun and wonderful of the year for sure! We get to plan, design and create a Christmas theme using candy, bright colors and tons of festive decor.

The event takes place at Porter House in Columbus Circle. This restaurant overlooks the circle where the parade goes by so it’s a perfect spot to watch from above.

To enter the restaurant, we come up with a dramatic walkway. This year we had trees built that Maggie painted and crafted with glitter and fringe and they were outrageous! They looked SO GREAT! La Bella Bash came in and worked their magic by adding balloon installations on top of the entry and on the base of our trees. To die for! The most important part about this entryway….is for when SANTA ARRIVES! What an entrance the jolly fella makes!

The decor was plentiful throughout the space but the highlights were the candy trees that Natalie sourced, Harry J’s stunning floral arrangements and the jumbo, inflatable Holiballs that we styled throughout the center console in the restaurant.

Porter House sets up a fantastic breakfast buffet and we set up a candy and hot chocolate bar, this year, next to a pink Christmas tree! It all came together so beautifully and we were thrilled to work with Bo Shim this year on the photography to capture all the beautiful details and precious moments.

To capture the moment for individuals and families, we brought in Studio Z for a photo booth moment. We set up fun props for the guests to play with and at the end of the party, there were tons of adorable photos for everyone to share!

This year, we brought in The Craft Studio to set up a table of crafts that would entertain the kiddos for hours on end and they did just that. They are SO awesome at coming up with creative ideas and working with kids. We have been working with Lindsay of the Craft Studio and her team for years and they never disappoint!

To add to all of the fun, we bring in this AMAZING hat lady - who calls herself Wacky Wendy. She creates funky, wild hats and the kids go nuts for her! She’s a hoot. Of course Santa Claus makes an appearance handing out candy canes and additionally we have Melinda of Melinda’s Children’s Parties come in for some festive face painting.

Another great feature of this party is their prize wheel. Each kid in attendance has a chance to spin it and win some pretty cool toys. It’s a party full of entertainment and fun with no time to get bored and for a little kid who is ready to countdown to Christmas, it’s a pretty special morning.

It’s the most wonderful time of year and not a bad way to kick the holiday season off!