October 28, Tuesday. The day of our Open House didn't start out with great promise as it was blustery and rainy. I had a knot in my stomach fearing that all the preparations that my staff & I made to guarantee a successful Annual Open House & Customer Appreciation evening would all come to naught due to the terrible weather we had on that day. There was even a point that I considered re-scheduling the event for fear of a very low turnout due to rain.
Luckily, around mid-day the rain stopped. To the Celebrations Event set-up crew it was the signal they were waiting for. They attacked the job on hand with no other purpose than to finish on time. We were also ready if in case the weather turns for the worse.
At 4:30, right on the dot, all of Celebrations staff were on their designated spots for the night, ready to welcome our guests.
They came in trickles at first but within half an hour we had huge crowd out on the parking lot, which we've transformed into a magical Christmas party tent with opulent linens of deep reds & golds, chivari chairs, centrepieces of every shape and size, upbeat cocktail tables strategically spread out in and out of the clear top tent, red carpet, lights, candles....the works!!! Nothing was spared to make this event anything else but top of the line, rain or shine!
Shortly, I've welcomed all of our guests into our retail store which we've transformed into Cayman's only Enchanted Christmas Store. Guests swarmed into the store to purchase the latest in Christmas décor and to see the beautifully designed Christmas Trees. I could have never been prouder of the work Celebrations does everytime I hear a guest gasp in delight & amazement upon seeing the ornately designed Christmas Trees and the gorgeous Christmas decor.
A look at some of the Christmas decor we have in stock.
Three of Celebrations' signature trees: Emerald Sea, Winter Wonderland, Blue Sky (L-R).
Another set of Celebrations' Signature Christmas Trees: Celestial Glory, Lemon Chiffon & Sunset Calypso (L-R).
Guests queued, eager to be inside Celebrations Enchanted Christmas Store.
The reigning Miss Cayman, Nicosia Lawson & myself in front of one of our Christmas Trees.
The Red Door Charity, which was a huge success from last year, was also part of the night's activities. In attendance this year were the Cancer Society, Humane Society & Red Cross. Celebrations created elegantly designed Christmas Wreaths for each Charity and sold tickets to all our guests. 3 lucky guests were picked as lucky winners of a wreath.
Lillian Burgos,one of the 3 lucky Charity Christmas Wreath winners with Miss Cayman, Nicosia Lawson & myself.
Thankfully the rain held off for the entire evening, and guests were able to enjoy appetizers from Fusion and drinks alfresco, whilst enjoying a myriad of live entertainment. Janine Stabler entertained guests with her violin as they arrived, then Isadora of Bonafide created a festive atmosphere with her melodic Christmas carols. The final act of the night, The Cayman National Chamber Choir, wowed the crowd as they sang in unison and had everyone singing along in no time!
The Cayman National Chamber Choir during their performance.
All in all, the night was a huge success! What a great way to start the Holidays!
