Light Up Rowayton

Rowayton Civic Association will be hosting their annual Holiday lighting and Egg Nog Contest this Sunday, December 2nd from 4:30-6. Festivities begin at Pinkney Park with the tree lighting and caroling. Afterward, stroll down Rowayton Avenue to enjoy a snack from Rowayton Market and to enter your vote for 2012's best egg nog!

Interested in entering your favorite recipe? Find more info here: Light Up Rowayton

Santa's been know to make a visit for some egg nog and you can also do a little holiday shopping at Flee (behind Sails) Flee on Facebook. Treat yourself to a tasty dinner at Sails or The Restaurant to finish off the night!

Greenwich Holiday Stroll

Time to shop and meet Santa at the Greenwich Holiday Stroll Weekend 2012. Saturday Dec 1st from 10 to 6 and Sunday Dec 2nd from 12 to 5. Parking is free and over 90 participating merchants will be offering promotions and refreshments. Enjoy carolers, musicians, professional ice sculptors, face-painting, complimentary holiday refreshments and horse-drawn carriage rides. Also travel down to McArdle's to visit with their live reindeer and have your photo taken with Santa!

Photos can be taken Mon-Fri 12-5:30, Sat 9-5:30 and Sun 9-4 until December 24th. Reindeers feedings at 9 and 4 daily.

http://www.GreenwichReindeerFestival.com/reindeer-festival.php

Shoppers are encouraged to make a donation to Kids in Crisis at any participating store. Look for the donation boxes!

New Canaan Holiday Stroll

This week kicks off our local FFC holiday strolls and tree lightings! Be sure to check back for all of our favorites!

We hope to head to New Canaan for the tree lighting and a fun dinner at one of New Canaan's great restaurants - perhaps the new Picador, a Spanish themed tapas restaurant by the owner of Carpe Diem (a personal favorite!) or South End, the newest restaurant to fill Pine Social's former space.

Kate Spade Shopping Event

You can shop til you drop this week! Enjoy 20% off at a special shopping night a Kate Spade Greenwich with Mackenzie Horan of Design Darling - check out her cute blog at www.mackenziehoran.com. I always love Kate Spade for holiday giftables, check out some of their adorable items below!

Bobby Pins  - too cute!

Crown Ski Hat

Perfect for your best friend at work!

Glitter bow belt - holiday must have

Haha!

The Enchanted Forest!

It's that time of year again when we're about to host the Junior League of Greenwich's biggest fundraiser of the year - The Enchanted Forest! A wonderful event for the whole family with gingerbread decorating, photos with Santa, a beautiful enchanted forest of trees for auction, an Apres Ski gala on Saturday night and of course the Boutique! It's EHA and my last year co-chairing the boutique show and we hope you'll come out to support the JLG and all our wonderful vendors! 15% of all sales go to fund the charitable projects of the league. Our favorite event of the weekend is the Friday night Sneak Peek - a wonderful night of shopping, cocktails and good times with friends! We will also have an amazing drawing for a Sail to Sable tunic, Pomeline earrings, faux fur collar from Toggle Home, $100 gift certificate to Fred, Ann Lansing Designs belt and more!

Below is a list of all the fabulous vendors joining us for the weekend - shopping is also open Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm. Many you'll recognize from FFC411! 

To find out more about the other events over the weekend please visit our JLG site!

Alpine Sleds - Traditional European bent wood snow sleds

Ann Lansing Design - new! - Belts, handmade buckles and reversible straps - all sold separately

BabyBox.com - Luxury gifts for babies & children

Bee & Clover - Vintage jewelry, refreshed

Center Stage - Music boxes, snow globes, porcelain dolls, tutus and stocking stuffers

Chalk Talk Sports - Sports-themed gifts, games and apparel

Charlie Dog Boxer Company - new! - Premium mens boxers made from 100% Peruvian pima cotton and dyed with eco-friendly dyes

Children of Tanzania - Beaded ornaments made by micro finance groups to support an educational project in Tanzania

Collared Greens - new! - Mens ties, bowties, belts, hats and t-shirts - eco-friendly and made in America

Devon Baer Designs - Women's one-of-a-kind luxury clothing and accessories

Diana E Kelly - Women's leather shoes and handbags

Elizabeth McKay - Classic American women’s sportswear with a modern sensibility

EMBY - new! - Unique home good and gifts, chic apparel and curiosities

Everything is Rosey - Variety of gift-giving items, including women's and men's clothing and accessories.

Gems and More by Christine - new! - Natural semiprecious stones set in sterling silver and silver plated jewelry.

Greenwich Women’s Exchange - Handmade dresses, sweaters, bows, dolls, wooden trains and Christmas items

Harbor Sweets - new! - Handmade distinctive New England Chocolates - world famous Sweet Sloops

Ilyse's Pieces - new! - Handcrafted jewelry and fashion jewelry

johnnie-O – new! - Classic apparel with a little topspin for men, women and children

Letter Perfect - The Junior League of Greenwich’s shop carrying holiday gifts and accessories

Linen Press - new! - Holiday themed linens, ornaments, tree skirts, stockings, Caspari paper products, pillows and candles

Liza Hennessy Fine Leather Goods - new! - An American collection of fine leather goods designed and manufactured in New England.                      

Lizzie Izzie + James – new! - Fun, whimsical and unique handmade children's accessories

Lynne T. Ward Antique Prints - new! - Full range of antique prints including botanicals, natural history and fashion

Marigot - new! - Cashmere sweaters, pajamas and robes

MIJA Jewelry - Fine jewelry for women & children- 18k gold & sterling silver

Moes Monkeys - Handmade lounge and sleepwear in cotton and cuddle fleece for children

Monomoy Designs - new! - Nautically inspired art

Oliphant Designs - Vintage and contemporary handcrafted jewelry

Once Again Jewels - new! - One of a kind antique and vintage jewelry

Ostilly Collections - Custom handbags, merino wool products, cashmere, belts and jewelry

Patrice - Lifestyle collection including tablecloths, place mats, napkins, women’s accessories and more

PIKME Papers - new! - Stationary, notepads, photo cards and gift tags

Pomeline - new! - Jewelry, semiprecious stones with gold vermeil

Pure Play Kids - Wooden and cloth toys

Sail to Sable - new! - Dresses and home accessories

Seton McGlennon - Hand painted ornaments of homes, pets, children and memories captured in original pieces

Shell Stories - new! - Mussel Shell Trees along with seashell pictures frames and mirrors

Silhouette Artist - Hand cut silhouette portraits, mats & frames

Small Field Papers - Personalized gifts & stationery

Smathers & Branson - 100% Hand stitched needlepoint belts & accessories

Snapping Turtle Kids - new! - Swimwear and accessories with stainless steel snaps for swimsuits, and 100% cotton terry cloth for beach cover ups and hats.

Soundview Millworks - new! - Mahogany and Maple boards completely customizable for your home, and make great personalized gifts.

SPLURGE - new! - Unique holiday hostess gifts, teacher gifts, scarves and unique children’s gift items

The Pink Mink - new! - Fur capes, vests, wraps and shawls as well as pashminas and accessories

The Spa at Delamar - new! - Spa gift certificates and gift baskets

Three Island - new! - A unique line of fun, vibrant, and accessibly priced clothing for the men, ladies and children to enjoy made from traditional hand-stamped Balinese batik.

Toggle Home - new! - Unique monogram designs on goods for adults and children.

Cashmere for All!

A Greenwich tradition - the cashmere sale is on from now until December 19th! Stop by 125 Greenwich Ave to scope out all the beautiful items this year!

Serendipity Girls Night Out

Serendipity hosted such a fab Food & Wine festival this year we have to say that anything they are hosting we are looking forward to attending!

Help them support Fashion Delivers which is a nonprofit that distributes clothing to people battling the effects of poverty and natural disasters - right now they are hard at work providing badly needed products to Hurricane Sandy victims.

Guests will enjoy food, a martini bar, make up artists, skin experts, give away and a fabulous gift bag while they watch eighteen of the community's most philanthropic women walk the catwalk at the J House!

To buy tickets to this event go to www.serendipitysocial.com

A Note from FFC411

I hope everyone is slowly recovering from hurricane Sandy and doing what they can to help their friends, neighbors and those across the tri-state with their relief efforts. Suzy Said has been doing a wonderful job updating those of us in the Fairfield County area on how we can help locally - check out their facebook page for lists of places accepting donations! Also consider helping those outside of CT, as many of them were hit the hardest, through organizations such as the Red Cross, AmeriCares and many more!

As people are starting to get back to normal little by little I felt it was time that we could start sharing some of the lighter things again and begin looking forward to the holiday season, because when things are tough nothing puts a smile on your face more than time with your friends and family!

While we'll probably spend the next month talking about shopping events, gifts, parties etc I hope Sandy helps everyone continue to keep their lives in perspective - while shopping and celebrating please also continue giving back to those who need it the most. It will make your holidays that much more meaningful!

Welcome back!