Have you made those resolutions? Think they are going to work this year? Well, here’s a little tip to make sure you do stick to those resolutions – WRITE THEM DOWN IN A LIST, AND HANG THEM SOMEWHERE VISIBLE!

You will get to see them everyday, and it will certainly help you stay focused on your goal to lose wight, keep off the alcohol, organise your paperwork, pay your bills on time, cook a healthy meal every day, bla bla bla! Whatever your resolutions are, RESOLVE TO DO THEM!  And if all this fails and you need some motivating, why not get someone to help you there? A friend who will keep a copy of that list for you and get updates from you regularly. Trust me, it works… as we all do best when we are under a little pressure, don’t we? I certainly do!

So go on, get that list on the wall, or behind the bedroom door, and start resolving!

Your helpful concierge!

First of all, come up with a theme that’s easy to do, and that you know will be appreciated and enjoyed by all your friends, and make sure all your fabulous food goes along with the theme – try a Lebanese meze buffet (very “in” right now). Anything Moroccan is popular too nowadays, and you can never go wrong with a great spread of Spanish tapas and some excellent Riojas to accompany the spread. If you are more partial to a curry, well, there’s no reason why that can’t be the central dish of your party. Coming up are a few snazzy ideas to help you create a memorable Xmas bash….

WINTER WONDERLAND - If you always loved the idea of a white Christmas, and you never get to see the snow where you live, as in Gibraltar, then turn your place into a Winter paradise. Fill your room with white Xmas lights all over the house, and dress up your table with a gorgeous white tablecloth, with little silver confetti thrown carelessly around the table, and accessorise it all with the frosty shades of silver and ice blue. Get some doilies (remember those things?) from your local supermarket and hang them on your walls and windows for the snowflake effect! And if your budget allows, there’s nothing to beat an ice sculpture for a centrepiece. Or you can buy a big block of ice and carve some holes in it to keep your chilled Cava in!  To go with this frosty theme, pick some sophisticated canapes for your buffet – black caviar on crackers, sushi rolls, etc. Or you could do the complete opposite and put on a spread of winter warmer delicacies – lots of hot canapes like mini baked potatoes with melted cheese, a Cheese fondue, or a couple of wonderful hot casseroles bursting with flavour. Let your friends try some of your home made warm mulled wine, and watch them just chill out…!

MARRAKESH – Bedeck your home with the jewelled colours of a typical Morrocan Souk, with lanterns everywhere, and cushions and rugs for your friends to relax on. Invest in a Shisha pipe, for that extra exotic touch and a bit of fun! Fill your dining table with a mouthwatering array of Morrocan and Middle Eastern delicacies – tabbouleh, cous cous, kebabs, cumin flavoured tomatoes. Once the starters are over, impress your friends with a delicious Moroccan casserole – a Tagine, or Harira Broth. And don’t forget that you need the right music to evoke the right atmosphere. Download some popular tracks from the Middle Eastern charts and mix them up with your favourite songs!

BOLLYWOOD BASH – Turn your home into a Bollywood movie set! In fact, you don’t even have to go that far to recreate the feel good factor that Bollywood movies are so good at generating. Decorate your palace with bright Indian fabrics – you can get these anywhere these days – and fill your dining table with all the indian delicacies you can make (or get from your local take away). For your festive tipple, how about an exotic fruit punch, with mangos and passion fruit, or some Cava with pomegranate juice- that’ll get your friends talking! If you can get hold of a projector, then play some Bollywood DVDs on your biggest wall, in silent mode, of course! The music? well that’s got to be a mixture of Bollywood, beaty Bangra and your favourite tracks of the moment! This will be a party that will be talked about for months – we guarantee it!

CASINO ROYALE – Yes, you’ve got it – it’s that Xmas favourite for many – A James Bond Party. Of course, the central theme is a Casino, so you can be sure your friends will be entertained by Poker, BlackJack, or Roulette (if your place is big enough). This is inevitably one of the most sophisticated parties to do – a black tie affair that’s a little bit tongue in cheek! Dress up your home with chandeliers and white candles everwhere. Have a couple of girls hostesses sprayed in gold serving the martinis, shaken of course! And the food, well that has to be a mix of all the countries that were the amazing locations of 007 movies. If your house has many rooms, then you could give each one a Bond movie title- and decorate it to that style. The ideas go on and on, and well so could we!

Whatever you do, make sure you have a wonderful time! And if in doubt, you could always call on a Party Planner like us for a little help and inspiration!

www.hourconcierge.com – contact: marketing@hourconcierge.com for further information. Tel: +350 71335

Rock of Ages Charity Event Nov 2007

Hour Concierge was employed by the Rock of Ages Campaign to assist in staging a fundraising dinner and concert in St Michael’s Cave. Monica andher team provided an excellent, friendly and efficient service while both helping to organise the event and on the evening itself. Without their input the dinner would not have been so much of a success and we are very grateful for all their efforts.

Ed Andrewes

Development Director

32Red/betdirect

www.32red.com

We organised our wedding entirely over the internet arriving only two days
before hand to present all the required paper work.

I would highly recommend both the botanical gardens, which are fabulous and
a perfect setting for small intimate weddings, as well as Monica and her
team who worked extremely hard to make our day so special.

Thank you,

Emma and Luis

Wanderlust

My favourite, of course, is Sean Connery, aka 007,  who liked it so much he did it twice!

love

wanderlust

Talking of parties, I went to a great Halloween Party on Saturday. It was just so ghoulish, I was shivering went I left, and it wasnt because it was cold outside! The room was filled with those cut out pumpkins with candles in them and there were even cut out witches hats which were used as lampshades. We were served bloody marys, with fake eyeballs in them! And the food was a feast of freakish delight! All colour-coordinated in black white and red. Gorgeous. Black cats everywhere, one was even named Count Dracula! Broomsticks hanging off ceilings, with streamers hanging off them. Music was a fantastic mix of the creepy and contemporary. What more could a girl ask for on a Saturday night? Happy Halloween everyone!

We had originally booked our wedding with some shonky planner who failed us with only 2 months to go and in swooped Monica to the rescue.  I’ve honestly never met such an enthusiastic and emphatic woman, she met us and brough her team with her and came up with some amazing ideas as to how to improve our day, she did this without being pushy but felt more like a family member offering friendly, unobtrusive advice.  She was on constant standby and answered every question I had swiftly.

I have never been as calm as I was on my wedding day and I know that is 100% down to the trust I had in Hour Concierge, I knew she wouldn’t let me know and she didn’t.  The day was like a dream, I know things happened in the background which is to be expected on a day like this but I was completely shielded from it.  It wasn’t an easy feat organising a wedding for 120 foreign visitors in a park in the middle of nowhere and I continue to be impressed that she managed to pull it off.

She worked so hard I thought she was about to drop but there she was the next morning tidying up!! We’ve stayed in touch and I know I would always be able to recommend her services and her warmth to anybody planning to marry in spain.

I cannot thank her enough but just wanted to express my gratitude and giving myself and my new husband the best day of our lives.

Love
Nat
xxx

Natalie Dunseath
MindShare
Unilever Press – Account Manager

Visit us at www.hourconcierge.com