The Company Party: Décor to Give Away

At the Alberto Culver Christmas black-tie event that we held for our employees and customers every year, we had a huge budget for flowers. I was in charge of the décor for this party for a number of years. And after seeing those thousands of dollars spent on flowers that lasted for only a night or two, we changed our thinking and made magic happen for local charities and our guests.

The ballroom and cocktail reception areas were decorated with twenty-five full-size Christmas trees. Each tree had a glittering banner naming the charitable organization to which the tree was going to be delivered the next day, and each tree had about eighty small gifts tied on it. The gifts matched the décor of the party and each year looked somewhat different. Trees would have everything from stuffed toys wired to their branches, to cars, books, games, and dolls. Each tree also had mittens and hats mixed in with the toys. The trees were lighted and magical. The guests felt great about the outpouring of generosity, our people felt proud, and our maintenance men who delivered the trees the next day claimed it was one of the most rewarding things they did each year.