After speaking with so many of our industry friends and colleagues, everyone agrees that we have all missed gathering for our Annual Vision Board Party. It feels like there is no better time to bring it back than now! So it makes us incredibly happy at Danielle Gibson Events, Take Time To Toast, and Encore Events Rentals to announce the 5th Annual Vision Board Party!

NEW – Photos of the 2023 Vision Board Party!

^{Please tag Duyho_ (Instagram) or Duy Ho Photography if you are going to use his photos.}

NEW – Photos of YOU with your Vision Board from Giggle & Riot Please tag @giggleandriot

FAQ’s

What is a Vision Board?

For those wondering what it’s all about, a vision board is a visual representation of your dreams, goals, and desires. Typically one will use magazine clippings, photos, and phrases to express what one wants to achieve in the next month, year, two years, etc. Once finished, a vision board should be placed somewhere you will see it every day (on your dresser, in your home office) so that you never lose sight of your goals and are constantly reminded to keep trying. 

What should you expect at the Vision Board Party?

The event will take place at our wonderful cohost and sponsor, Encore Events Rentals, @encoreeventsrentals. Thank you for having us! As hosts, they are eager to showcase some of their latest additions in lounge furniture and provide a fun and inspiring atmosphere to include bites, bevvies, music, and more!

Once we are all settled in with LaCroix, @lacroixwater sponsored drinks, and a grazing table sponsored by Field & Farm @fieldandfarmboards we will begin a guided session with sponsor Kate Messmer Jessup, founder of Peace of Kate. This 30-minute session is designed to quiet your mind and connect to your inner consciousness.

A little bit about Kate. Kate Messmer Jessup is a Napa Valley native and owner of the private practice Peace of Kate. She coaches individual clients and leads corporate groups in using mindfulness and self-awareness to bring more happiness and inner peace into daily life. 

Kate graduated from The University of Santa Monica and earned her MA in Spiritual Psychology with an advanced certification in Soul-Centered Professional Coaching. Since launching Peace of Kate in 2013, she has published numerous articles in Napa Valley Life Magazine and The St. Helena Star, and she has had a radio segment on the Barry Martin Radio Show (KVYN). You can check out all her media endeavors by heading to her website.

We recommend that you come to the vision board party with an idea of what you want your goals to be in order to help you start your thought process during Kate’s session.

Once in a relaxed state of mind, we will begin creating our vision boards and enjoying pizza and salads, sponsored by Di Filippo Wood-Fired Pizza @difilippowoodfiredpizza

What do you need to create your vision board?

To help you create your board, we will have the following items available at the vision board party:

• Cork Board – We will have these for sale at the event for $20 each. (If you want to purchase your own, they are sold in a 2-pack on Amazon)
• Push pins, tape, and glue sticks
• Magazines for clipping photos, words, and phrases
• Scissors
• Pen and paper for taking notes during Kate’s session

We will also have four professional calligraphers sponsoring the vision board party to write custom phrases you would like to include on your boards. Their beautiful handwriting incorporated on your board will bring you even more joy every time you view it!

Ashley Taylor of Napa Note, @napa_note on Instagram

Napa Note is a design studio offering custom calligraphy. Specializing in a romantic handwriting style that evokes elegance and timeless luxury, you’ll be sure to leave a lasting positive impression on your guest.

Kestrel Montes of Ink Me This, @inkmethis on Instagram

Calligrapher & Engraver, Kestrel Montes specializes in hand engraving and calligraphy pieces for framing. She also owns Nibtique, a global network of professional calligraphy artists. @nibtique on Instagram.

Jody Meese of Mil Plumas Calligraphy and Engraving, @milplumaslettering on Instagram

Jody relishes the variety of projects, venues, styles, and media she works with every day. From commercial chalkboards to illuminated manuscripts, to calligraphic engraving at on-site events, she loves beautifying the world one letter at a time.

Blanca Lewis of Blanca Lewis Calligraphy, @blanca_lewis_calligraphy on Instagram

Blanca is a calligrapher and engraver based in San Francisco, serving the Bay Area and beyond. She provides luxury calligraphy services for brand activations, corporate events, and more.

While you are there, smile for Duy Ho @duyho_. Duy is our sponsored photographer and he will be documenting the vision board party.

There will also be beautiful florals around the room to enjoy and inspire, designed by Bryce Loutsch of Vanda Floral Design.

Alyssa from Riza Plants, @rizaplants will be there with her green thumb decorating the room with her little loves. Riza Plants is a plant store based in Napa that sells and rents plants for events.

Once you have completed your board, head on over to Giggle and Riot’s photo booth @giggleandriot and get a snap of you and your completed board!

Looking forward to seeing you, don’t forget to register ASAP as we have limited space! 

PLANNING EVENTS? CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOGS!

To celebrate the upcoming summer season and Northern California wine country opening its doors to visitors again, we’re excited to partner with some of our favorite local hospitality pros to offer one lucky winner (and a guest) the opportunity to live their best lives in Sonoma County. 

From sleeping next to a Redwood forest at AutoCamp Russian River, to a private wine tour in West Wine Tour’s refurbished VW Van, to a luxury picnic for two by CaliPicnics, we have curated an Ultimate Sonoma County Getaway Giveaway that brings together the very best of wine country hospitality.

The Ultimate Sonoma County Getaway prize includes:

A Two Night Stay at AutoCamp Russian River Valley
West Wine Tours Russian River Valley Tasting Tour (three winery stops + lunch)
CaliPicnic’s Luxury Picnic for Two People (food provided by Olema Wines)

ENTER –> Olema Wines Ultimate Sonoma County Getaway Giveaway

To offer some insider inspiration to the lucky winner or anyone looking to plan an escape to Sonoma County, we at Danielle Gibson Events are giving you our insider secrets on how to experience one of our favorite Sonoma County town, Guerneville (where you’ll be spending two nights at Autocamp Russian River). 

Favorite Things To Do in Guerneville

Guerneville is like no other town in Sonoma wine country. It’s a laid back, funky river town of only 5,000 residents.

WHERE TO EAT

Breakfast or Lunch

Big Bottom Market – Their biscuits are on the list of Oprah’s favorite things. Enjoy breakfast, lunch and shopping in the market.

Lunch and Dinner 

Boon Eat + Drink – Right on Main Street, grab a seat outside on the street to watch the sidewalk traffic. Flavorful and seasonal. The restaurant owner/chef Crista has a long history of restaurateur and chef experiences.

Dinner 

The Farmhouse Inn Restaurant – If you want to go above and beyond, try to get in for dinner at the One Michelin star awarded Farmhouse Inn Restaurant, you won’t be disappointed.

Dessert

Chile Pies – Made by our business friend Alicia, the homemade pie flavors change weekly.  Try something out of the ordinary like their signature green chile apple pie.

Don’t forget to add a pint of ice cream with your pie, (including vegan options) from their sister ice cream parlor also located in the  “Old Bank of Guerneville” called Nimble & Finn’s.

WHERE TO DRINK

El Barrio also owned by Crista is just a few steps down from her restaurant Boon Eat + Drink. The perfect little place for a mezcal margarita and Mexican cuisine. The friendly staff will make you feel right at home.

WHERE TO SHOP

Downtown Guerneville – for a step back in time, downtown Guerneville’s Main Street is the perfect mix of nostalgia and eclectic charm. The Guerneville 5 & 10 will take you down memory lane and is the perfect stop to stock up before heading out for a day at the Russian River.

WHAT TO DO
(WHEN TAKING A BREAK FROM WINE AND FOOD)

After you’ve indulged on the endless wine country fare, there’s no better way to unwind than at the river. Johnson’s Beach  has an expansive pebble beach surrounded by towering Redwoods.

At the beginning of quarantine we thought there would be a few “lucky” ones with quarantine birthdays, but almost 1 year later it seems most of the world will have a birthday or major milestone to celebrate during this global pandemic. For some it was weddings (which we wrote about in detail here), for some it was a birthday, the birth of a new born baby, and for others still it was a job promotion, a new home, and other major life transitions that would normally call for large gatherings of friends or family. 

The new normal is finding safe ways to celebrate at a distance or online, but just because we’re practicing social distancing or quarantining ourselves at home doesn’t mean we can’t also have a little fun, right? In fact, celebrating a milestone can be a bright spot in these unprecedented and uncertain times.. We’re here to tell you it’s still possible to celebrate! And, if you’re looking for a little hands-on help beyond this blog post, Danielle Gibson Events is here to help with that too.

Whether you live alone, with a partner, with roommates, or family, below are some ways to celebrate someone’s big day while still being safe during this time. 

This blog contains photos of a joint 50/80 milestone birthday celebration that Danielle Gibson Events designed in Napa Valley to help inspire you to plan your next social event. To see more photos of this Amalfi Coast inspired party and vendor credits, visit us on Party Slate.

Throw A Virtual Party

Have you been using a video chat service for most of 2020? Office meetings are now standard practice on Zoom, Google Meets, and Slack, while friend and family time takes place on Facetime, Skype, WhatsApp, Houseparty, the list goes on… Read more of our breakdown on the best ways to host virtually here. So why not use the same type of service for a party? 

Take advantage of the fact that no one has to travel to your celebration and use a virtual platform to gather a larger than normal group! Set the mood with lighting, make your mocktail or cocktail drink of choice (La Croix has some fun mocktail recipes) and encourage attendees to do the same, create a Spotify playlist that everyone can listen to (share it via a link in the video platform’s chat), play trivia (Houseparty will set this up for you for free!), stream a movie together (checkout Netflix Party for this!), or make it a themed party in which everyone dresses up. #WigginOut is a common party theme in which everyone shows up wearing a crazy wig!

Want to take the party to the beach? The Las Vegas strip? The beautiful Napa Valley vineyards? Don’t we all. Now’s your chance! Canva has customizable Zoom backgrounds and videos so you can take your virtual party anywhere you want to go.

• 

• 

Party In A Box

The next best thing to eating cake on your birthday is eating cake on your birthday, in bed! Send your guest of honor a birthday-in-a-box complete with cake and decorations to make their day extra special. 

Here are some businesses we love:

• For Birthdays – Celebration Station’s Birthday-in-a-Box ($99.95) It includes a colorful, four-layer confetti cake, the famous Celebration Stadium candle holder, 100 gold and silver candles, personalized birthday card, gold foil paper crown, and a “Happy Birthday” gold cake topper.
• For Any Celebration – Confete Party Box ($35-$199) Their boxes cover any celebration you can think of from a Drunken Debate Party to a Bachelorette Party and come with perfectly curated decor and accessories to make your party all that you’ve ever wished. 
• Consider reaching out to a local business to put together a custom box of goodies for all your virtual friends. If you’re in the Napa Valley or San Francisco Bay Area we recommend:  Foxtail Catering, Teeny Cake and La Saison.

Take Advantage of Precious Real Estate

While it’s always nice to receive a handwritten card in the mail, it’s even more fun to wake up and see a custom celebratory message on your front lawn. It’s like showing up with a boombox blasting your favorite song, but less disturbing to the neighbors. Choose your custom message with prices starting around $100. They’ll even cover the setup and takedown. Here’s an example of a company in the North Bay – this service is very specific to your location so we recommend googling “Front Yard Signs in My Area” to find the best option for you!

If you’re in the Orange County/Los Angeles area consider reaching out to our friends over at Wild Child Party. Throughout quarantine they’ve been hands-on making birthdays come to life in the cutest of ways. 

Send Some Love In The Mail

• Piñatagram – Piñatas have always been a staple at kids birthday parties, but why should kids have all the fun? Enter Piñatagrams. This company will ship a small, colorful piñata ($19.99) filled with sweets and a custom message to whoever you’re celebrating.
• Milk Bar – Famous for their classic “Birthday Cake”. The Birthday Cake is a vanilla cake packed with cake crumbs and funfetti. The cakes and desserts are available for delivery nationwide with a flat shipping fee of $15, or for same-day delivery through Postmates, DoorDash, Uber Eats and Caviar if you live close enough to one of their brick-and-mortar locations. 
• We Drink Bubbles – A San Diego business, woman run and founded, that includes a subscription to bubbles and also offers specially curated gifts. Perfect for the champagne lover in your life.
• Farmgirl Flowers – Send a bouquet of flowers to your special person no matter the celebration! Got a promotion at work? Celebrating a milestone birthday? Farmgirl Flowers now ships nationwide!

• 

• 

• 

Send A Celebrity Cameo

There is now a service for everything. This one allows you to pay actors, musicians, reality TV stars, athletes and other public figures for personalized shout-outs whether you’re in Los Angeles, the Napa Valley, or anywhere! Ranging from $2 to $2,500, you can request a birthday video message through Cameo from celebrities like Mandy Moore, Tony Hawk, Debra Messing,Ice Cube, or your favorite Bachelor/Bachelorette contestant.

• 

• 

Create Your Own Parade!

If you live close enough, consider organizing your friends to drive their own cars over to the home of whoever needs celebrating! This parade of honks (be mindful of neighbors), signs, and balloons out the window is a memorable way to make someone feel special during a time when leaving the house is frowned upon. It’s a great feeling to see your friends outside of your laptop screen while still being safe. 

• 

• 

Need Help Creating A Memorable Milestone Celebration When Celebrating Is Safe Again?

We offer a range of services you can see here for clients in the Napa Valley and beyond.

Reach out to DG Events via email at danielle@daniellegibsonevents.com to find out how we can help! 

Find out how we can help you find the best venues for your event for FREE! Our venue scouting services are free when you book through us.

Give Us A Virtual Hug

Sign up for our newsletter on our website to receive DG Event tips in your inbox

Shop our events on Like To Know It 

See what we are up to on Instagram

Dream up a party with us on Pinterest 

Join our community for women entrepreneurs @taketimetotoast

Pin It For Later!

After speaking with so many of our friends and loved ones, it’s easy to agree that 2020 was not as we were all expecting. We all had plans made, vacations booked, and affirmations to uphold, how humbling these ideas are now. While we do not know what 2021 has in store, we are able to offer some direction and maybe pinpoint some goals with Danielle Gibson Events’ 4th Annual Vision Board Party! This virtual event is the perfect opportunity to re-center and learn how to create achievable goals. (Here are some photos from our first Vision Board Party!)

What is a Vision Board?

For those wondering what we’re talking about, a vision board is a visual representation of your dreams, goals, and desires. Typically one will use magazine clippings, photos, and phrases to express what you want to achieve in the next month, year, two years, five years, etc. Once finished, a vision board should be placed somewhere you will see it every day (on your dresser, in your home office) so that you never lose sight of your goals and are constantly reminded to keep trying. 

What is a Vision Board Party?

While the name does give it away, here at Danielle Gibson Events we go all out for our Annual Vision Board Party, usually held in Napa, California (this is year #4!). While our parties have traditionally been in person, we knew the show had to go on this year and came up with some creative ways and partnered with a few amazing vendors to make sure you are all set up for success in 2021!  

What to Expect if you Register.

We will be hosting this event via Zoom this year, thanks to our partners at La Tavola BBJ Linen. Since one of our goals for the Vision Board Party is to bring people together, we wanted to close the virtual gap as much as possible and make it feel like we were all in the same room together. To do that, we partnered with LaCroix to provide a signature mocktail idea called the “CranRaspberry New Year New Sparkle”. Feel free to add a splash of bubbly or your favorite spirit to make it a cocktail. Check out this page for more fun mocktail ideas using LaCroix! To match your drink, LaCroix also provided us with a dreamy zoom background for the event! Click this link and scroll down the page to download this background or any of the fun backgrounds they have to offer! 

Once we are all settled with our drinks (and snacks if you want!), maybe light a candle or turn on your diffuser and we will begin a Guided Sanctuary Meditation from Emily Leahy, founder of Return to Sacred.

This 20-30 minute meditation is designed to expand consciousness and connect to your inner wisdom. Once in a relaxed state of mind, we will begin creating our Vision Boards. 

To help guide you through this meditation, Emily created a worksheet with a few categories for you to consider during the meditation. We encourage you to write down anything you are feeling after the meditation on this sheet or in a journal.

We have also included a map of the 7 Chakras for you to reference and to help better visualize during the meditation.

To help you prepare, we recommend gathering the following items:

• Cork Board
• Colorful Push Pins
• Magazines for clippings of photos, words, and phrases
• Scissors
• Our 2021 Vision Board playlist
• Emily’s Guided Meditation Worksheet (download available above!)

We typically have 2 professional calligraphers at our parties to write custom phrases you’d like to include on your boards. While we are not able to do this, the amazing Sheryl Chan, founder of Blushtype and Ashley Taylor, founder of Napa Note, each created sheets of popular words and phrases that you may download, print, and put on your boards! 

We also recommend that you come into the event with an idea of what you want your goals to be. To help you start this thought process, here are a few words from Emily for you to consider:

…Envision the person you are becoming, while remembering that power exists within you now. Do not be afraid of dreaming big and going to the edge of what you imagine for your life, let it be scary.

What are you wanting? Is it really what you want or what society tells you to want? Or something your old self wanted?

Clarity about what you want and the why and how you’ll create it. What needs to be released? Any attachments, emotions or fears to bring in these dreams?

What You Can Win! 

If we haven’t convinced you already to join, here’s the cherry on top! One attendee will win a YEAR’S SUPPLY* of LaCroix. That’s right. Here’s how it will work:

1. Enjoy your evening at the party and create your beautiful vision board 
2. Follow @daniellegibsonevents @taketimetotoast and @lacroixwater on Instagram
3. Create a post of an image of your board on Instagram and tag @daniellegibsonevents, @taketimetotoast and @lacroixwater
4. Boards must be posted by Monday, January 11, 10:00 am PST and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, January 12th.

_{*15 Cases of LaCroix Sparkling Water. Cases consist of 2/12 packs. Delivery to be shipped all at once or split into two shipments. Final delivery details to be mutually agreed upon by winner and sponsor.}

Looking forward to seeing you and don’t forget to register ASAP as we have limited space! 

If you are following along this Holiday it’s our 3rd blog in our “Home for the Holidays” series. So far we had fun drying citrus, cutting out snowflakes, and on Instagram Reel we made bath salts. Since events at Danielle Gibson Events are canceled this year due to Covid-19, we have had some free time. We are usually finishing up the year with a fun corporate Holiday party for 2,000 people in San Francisco, but instead I am keeping it fun at home and sharing all things design for the Holidays.

Next up, THE HOLIDAY TABLE.

This year the number of people gathering may be smaller than in the past, but I still want it to feel like Christmas. We partnered with Encore Event Rentals and Blushtype to help bring our table design to life.

Let’s start with the garland!

I love using a holiday garland for my table. This one is arranged with magnolia leaves, white berries and some evergreen accents. I purchased this one at the SF Flower Mart, but you can also make this yourself. I tucked in the pampas grass by hand after I arranged it on the table for a non-traditional look. The runner underneath is from Linen Way. ( I don’t remember where I purchased it, sorry!)

Pro tips:

• If you are going to use garland on your table, have a plated dinner instead of family style since there will not be any room for shared plates.
• Make your garland longer than your table so you can have it sweep the floor for a more dramatic look.
• If you need seat anyone at the heads of the table you will obviously need to shorten your garland.
• Don’t make your garland more than a week before your dinner, as the greens will start to dry out.
• You can tuck in other elements (see below) to add more interest on the table if you have the room. (pine cones, magnolia pods, crab apples, cranberries).

For the place settings, I went with a matte brown/black look. At first thought using black and brown for the Holidays might sound drab, but when you arrange it with colors of the season, it acts more like a neutral color and really creates a beautiful organic look.

For the place-setting we used the following:

• The Terra black china for the dinner plate
• The Relic small plate for the salad plate
• The Relic bowl for the soup bowl
• The Jensen brass and black flatware
• I also threw in a wooden plate I had on a few place-settings so not every set was the same. (You don’t have to create the same exact place-settings for everyone at the table, mix it up a bit!)
• The napkin is a favorite of mine I purchased years ago here.
• Glassware from Riedel.
• Place cards with mini wreath are from Blushtype. I love these! The additional natural elements add an earthy, dreamy feel to the table…and her modern calligraphy is so on point.
• I used 3 different napkins folds on this table design to give you different ideas for your table. (see below)

Candles change the whole mood of a table! The more the merrier!

Pro tip:

Enjoy setting your table this year no matter how small the gathering may be!

Happy Holidays!

DG Events

Need more Holidays tips? Follow us on Pinterest.

As part of our “Home for the Holidays” blogs we are showing you easy decorating ideas you can do at home, because isn’t that where we all are these day?

Next up, SNOWFLAKES!

You can watch my video on how to create snowflakes on Instagram.

Making paper snowflakes brings me back to childhood. No technology needed, just paper, glue and scissors, and it’s great for all ages!

First up! What You Need:

Paper lunch bags. It’s easy to find these in brown, but adding white into the mix makes decorating more interesting! Look for bags that don’t have branding details on the top, it might be visible when making your snowflake.

Scissors. Make sure to have strong metal scissors since you are cutting through several layers of bags. These decorative edge scissors are fun for this project, but it will be difficult to cut with these plastic scissors because of how many layers you have. It is possible, but will just take you more time.

Glue. You can use glue sticks or hot glue guns. If you are creating with children, I recommend glue sticks.

Monofilament for hanging.

How To Craft Your Snowflakes – 3 Easy Steps:

1. Gluing your paper bags. Line one bag up with the bottom gusset facing down. With your glue stick/gun make a “t” shape in glue on the bag and place the next bag on top of the glue, again bottom gusset side down. Repeat this until you have 8 bags. You may want to stop at 4 and make your cuts so you have less bags to cut through. (see the next step for cuts)

2. Cutting your paper bags. Now that your bags are glued, start designing! Cut designs through all the bags on both long sides. You can cut triangles, half circles, cut the top into a point, the options are endless!

Once finished, open up and ooh la lah! You have a paper snowflake!

3. Decorate around the house by securing the top bag to the bottom bag with monofilament and hanging. I would recommend not glueing the top and bottom together so you can flatten the snowflake at the end of the season for storing to use next year.

Others creating snowflakes around the web: