Ski lodge winter party inspiration!

Ski lodge winter party inspiration!

• 11.21.2014

Winter party planning!!
I'm on the winter party committee at my company again this year, and I'm so excited. It's a ton of fun to plan a big party for 200 people with a budget and committee of excited architects and engineers plus a few people like me. (Last year was Great Gatsby themed-- see my party inspirations here, dress I made here.)

I definitely had a big hand in choosing the theme this year, and I always volunteer for the invitation/announcement subcommittee, food subcommittee, and decor subcommittee--of course!! (You know me.)

This year our theme is ski lodge. Or lodge. Or plaid. Something like that. We went back and forth but decided that a general "lodge" theme would allow people to dress up for a lot of eras and sub-themes like 80's ski or 60's fur James Bond/apres-ski or Paul Bunyan. (These themes were all discussed as well.)

The venue is this funky new downtown Portland place called Punch Bowl Social. Funny mix of hipster food and drinks with classic games/bowling/darts etc. and vintage video games. And the decor is what originally inspired the "lodge" theme--there are some glam retro couches and barstools and such but also lots of log tables and antlers and fireplaces. Oh, it's also on a top floor of the downtown Portland mall. (Confused yet? Here is a virtual tour.) BIG pro of this place? It's already so cool we don't need to decorate virtually at all, so we can free up some of the decor budget for other things like an awesome photo booth or activities!

Anyway, I've been brainstorming about ideas (I collected a bunch of these photos to sway the committee to vote on my preferred theme!!) and also thinking about what to wear! (Should I make myself a plaid taffeta dress or something?? What is lodge-ey but also a cute party look?!?)

I thought back to a New England blogger I know of who posts the most perfect preppy holiday scenes in goodness knows what amazing settings she puts together, complete with all her adorable coordinated friends. I pulled a bunch of photos from her blog to show the committee! And I wanted to show you, too; maybe you can help me decide what to make/wear!

From Classy Girls Wear Pearls:

How lodge-ey are these?! Plaid pants, anyone?

Or this? I bet my husband would totally wear a plaid jacket like that. ;) (P.S. not for the winter party, but next time I get a chance I definitely want to tie plaid bows around my dining chairs!!)

I can't tell if it's in a lodge for real, but I think this classic 50's style Haddon Sundblom painting captures it... called "Weekend in the Ski Country"!

I also found, in my Google image search for lodge parties, that a few people have had this idea before and documented it. (Duh/yay.) One of my faves was these company party photos of a "Sexy Ski Lodge" themed holiday party.

These employees all did an awesome job of dressing the part! And how cool it this party setting? Complete with a cool lodge-ey photo background!

Obviously, for a great ski lodge costume, you need a hat and something fur on or near you.

So now I'm conflicted! Should I make a plaid dress, or go all out with leggings and fair aisle print??

Hope you enjoyed these inspirations as much as I do!