Festive Ideas for the Holidays

Here at fab'rik we always love to throw a good party; whether it be birthday, baby shower, bridal shower, engagement, anniversary, or just a random get together-- we are always down for getting the gang together & celebrating just about anything! But we especially love gathering for the holidays.
Who doesn't love a good holiday party? Year after year, people celebrate this time of family & friends with all sorts of themes to bring everyone together.
Having a hard time making up your mind on what you'd like to host this year?
Here is our list of must-have holiday parties:
-Favorite Sweater: old school but never gets old. A great way for both guys & gals to get excited about the holiday season. Rock a favorite sweater from childhood or score one at a thrift store. Makes your outfit selection sooo much easier.
-Tacky Christmas: duh. It's favorite sweater-esque taken to a whole new level. What's more fun that seeing all of your friends decked out in reindeer antlers, jingle bells & wreaths! Over time we've seen some pretty outlandish get ups at these type of gatherings!
-Winter Wonderland: Easy enough: ask all of your friends to gather in winter white, creme, & ivory outfits. These color-based- themed parties are great for pictures & wanting a simple theme to mold your party around.
-Potluck party: makes things easy for the hostess. If you're really wanting to get your group of friends together but don't have hours to spend slaving in the kitchen this is your best option. Send out an evite or mass email (this way everyone can know what everyone's bringing) suggesting different sides, desserts, etc. It's an easy way out of having to throw the whole thing together yourself! & a great way to get new recipe ideas! Which brings us to our next theme...
-Recipe exchange: this is geared more towards the gals. But a really cute idea especially for ladies in their 20s who are still figuring out how to go about hosting their own party. Make it simple: appetizers & drinks, & ask all your guests to bring their preferred holiday recipe on note cards-- enough for each guest. Everyone will love finding out how to make grandma's gingerbread cookies, your family pumpkin pie, etc. all while sipping on a cocktail...
-Mixology party: What's a holiday party without some fun drink options? Another girl friendly idea is a cocktail themed party. Similar to the recipe exchange except better ;) Everyone brings the ingredients to their favorite party (hopefully holiday inspired) drinks to share with friends while mingling with friends. Here's one of our favorite cocktails with a festive twist: We call it the Christmas Collins: First fill a cocktail shaker with cracked ice. Add gin (preferably Bombay), lemon juice & sugar. Shake about 5 times. Then fill an 8 oz. glass with about a palm-full of pomegranate seeds. After, pour our mixture from the cocktail shaker into the glass & top it off with a sprig of thyme-- which mocks a mistletoe!
-Ornament Exchange: My girlfriends & I used to do this in high school, & as the years have gone on I cherish the memories from these get togethers the most from holiday seasons' past. Everyone brings an ornament & follows the rules much like a white elephant gift exchange. It's a great way to get some adorable ornaments to add to your Christmas trees over the years.
-XXXmas Party: Now I suppose it's only fitting for the adult version of the ornament exchange party that my friends & I have migrated to over the past couple of years. Same concept-- different gifts. We each bring some lingerie under $40 and have a hilarious time laughing as everyone fights over lingerie... my how times have changed ;)

Cheers! & Happy hostess-ing!!

A photo from a Little Black Dress themed party we had a few years ago :)

Family Function-al

So with the holidays comes loads of family functions. While you're busy juggling cocktail parties & soirees the majority of the year where anything in your closet goes, November & December ask for a more conservative approach to celebrating. I mean, let's be serious, you can't show up at grandma's with 5 inch stilettos & a mini skirt!

Take the fab'rik approach to holiday festivity shopping: buy things that are appropriate but versatile. A sweater that can also be worn to work, a dress that can be worn with leggings at your aunt's but can show off your gams when you're out with your girls, or a slick pair of jeggings with a cozy tunic & then rockin heels on the weekend. What's better than pieces that can be worn now & later? Other than a serious Thanksgiving feast :)

For All You Carolina Girls....

What better way to kick off your Monday than with a great deal?

For all of our North Carolina customers you can enjoy a special post-Halloween treat: Our Raleigh & Chapel Hill stores are on Groupon today!

For $25 you get $60 worth of merchandise! Talk about a deal! That's 58% off!

Before midnight tonight be sure to snatch up your Groupon to get great savings on sweaters, cardigans, jackets, coats, dresses, jewelry, shoes & even jeans!