Holiday Traditions...

"PIE NIGHT" ...My Favorite Holiday Tradition!!!

Some people prefer to keep these special traditions to themselves, but I prefer to share with all of you in hopes that some of you will either be inspired to begin your own holiday tradition or share in mine :)

When I was growing up my mom's best friend Chris had this wonderful thing she called Pie Night! It was held annually the night before Thanksgiving and we all gathered in her home o...well...eat Pie! It was so much fun and it was a grat way to prepare our stomachs for the challenge that lie ahead the following day...Thanksgiving Dinner :)

Unfortunately, for all of us, Chris moved away to live near the Lake a couple of years ago and Pie Night was lost...I really began to miss the time together and it really did start off the holiday season for my family.

My husband and I were talking one afternoon about traditions for our family. Times that we would remember and events we could create so that our friends would look forward to them and our children would remember them. We thought about a Halloween Party, but too many friends already hosted Halloween. New Year's Eve might have been fun, but it goes so late and babysitters cost a fortune. We really wanted to create an event that adults and children could both enjoy! I mentioned how much I enjoyed Pie Night and how much I would love to carry on the tradition, but make it a little different. Although he was a little bit unsure at first, we just completed our second Annual Pie Night and it was a HUGE success!! My husband and I were joking the next day that we will have to tent the backyard and get a band if we have any more guests next year!!

The Secrets of Pie Night!!!
So, these are some of the things that we do for our Annual Pie Night...some you may like and care to adopt and some you might pass over, but all of the below proved important to a successful party...

*We send out an invitation and it invites everyone to "Kick-Off the Holidays" with us. The key here is everyone is welcome and you really need to be prepared for this. The bottom line is alot of people have extended family in town for Thanksgiving, so our rule is ALL are welcome, whether you bring two people, nine people or come with just your family, we welcome EVERYBODY to celebrate with us.
*We ask everyone to bring their favorite sweet. This year we requested that everyone bring their favorite "Homemade" Sweet. It was incredible because we had everything from Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies to Pumpkin Cupcakes along with every pie imaginable. The most requested pie at our house is Aunt Jen's Kentucky Derby Pie!!and we are lucky she humors us all by turning up with it!
*I decorate my entire house for Christmas with the exception of the decorations on my Christmas Tree. I ask that everyone eat, drink and put three ornaments on my tree to help me complete my home. Then, I vow to leave it alone...however my guests decorate it (and we have some wildcards in our group) I leave it just the way they did it. My husband, son and I then place our special ornaments on the tree on Thanksgiving.
*The Kids...The Kids...and we have tons of kids (all different ages) that come to Pie Night, so we have a woman who comes and makes holiday items with them up in the gameroom. We put a Holiday Movie on and they can make anything from ornaments for their trees to placecards for their Thanksgiving Table...whatever their hearts desire!

The rest of Pie night consists of just enjoying each other's company and catching up with everyone while enjoying lots of sweets accompanied by plenty of holiday libations.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season enjoying their friends and families!
XOXO, Tamara

The Westin Stonebriar Resort

This week's first pick should not be too much of a surprise for those of you who know me, as the Westin Stonebriar Resort is where I held my wedding reception celebration over four years ago. I had an absolutely wonderful and beautiful celebration and much of that was due to the incredible job the Stonebriar did.

What I loved??? There were really five BIG reasons that I chose the Stonebriar and I believe Brides today are still choosing it based on these things. #1 I love the resort feel. Now, this is a personal preference of course, but I absolutely love environments where I can swim, golf, spa...aka: RELAX! I love to RELAX and I don't do it nearly enough. #2 It has the most elegant "Texas" flair. I was living in NY when I was planning my wedding and we had soooooooooo many people coming in from out of town so I was so happy to find a place that would give everyone a little taste of "The Texas" :) #3 Ann Evans! She was the catering sales manager at the time and I clicked with her right away. Although Ann has moved on and is now at the Westin Galleria, when I met the current Director of Catering, Jill Price, I felt the same way. They have a world class team and they are very, very serious about taking care of their clients. #4 The Pool...OK, I know it sounds silly, but did I mention I got married in August and it is hot as blazes in Texas in August??? The Westin Stonebriar has a FABULOUS pool with an awesome water slide!! The kids and my husbands friends can all attest to the waterslide being alot of fun! #5 F&B...now that is what we hotel people call food and beverage and the culinary experience at the Stonebriar was outstanding! I still serve the La Crema Pinot Noir we all had with dinner at my annual "Pie Night"...more on that later.

The Ballrooms...are perfect. Elegant, very nicely appointed and very neutral in color. You can do absolutely ANYTHING in them decor wise and it will be beautiful! If you are getting married in Dallas you must take some time...go North...and visit the Westin Stonebriar Resort. It is well worth the drive. A little piece of Heaven right here in Frisco!!! Visit http://www.westinsstonebriar.com/ or call 972.668.8000 and ask for Jill Price!
XOXO, Tamara