A class above

Its Christmas Party time of the year again! Only someone with a career in Education can really appreciate the scale and grandeur of the rest of the world's Christmas parties. There is no pot-luck portion, no one has to pay for their dinner or drinks, and best of all, there is a certain level of classiness to these events that is unattainable at a teachers party. It is true that we can never complain about our time off, summer vacation and work hours, but when it comes to Christmas time, our parties don't hold a candle to the corporate ones. This winter the KPMG party was held at Grand Old House, right on the ocean. Some women even took the afternoon off for a hair appointment and professional make-up. Everyone was looking forward to the three course buffet and open bar. KPMG rented shuttles to pick us up from different locations around the island and to take us home once we had reached our alcoholic intake limit. In honour of our first ocean side island holiday party, I went out to my friend Kate's store and bought an overpriced cocktail dress from her upscale boutique. At just after 7pm the busses arrived with nearly 200 KPMG employees and their spouses. Since our entire social circle and even our acquaintances are all from KPMG it felt like a reunion of our favourite people. The wine, beer and cocktails flowed freely on the patio. White icicle lighting and a live piano player gave the whole setting an amazingly warm holiday feeling, and the waves crashing in the background brought back the reality that a warm winter party is really the only way to go! Memories of tromping through slush and snow, inevitably ruining my black pumps and freezing my bare feet were far away. The thought of coat checks and waiting hours for a taxi at the end of the evening were long gone. Bailing my car out of the car park early the next morning only to learn I owed an exorbitant fee from parking in an hourly lot didn't even cross my mind. Instead I was fascinated with the create-your-own pasta bar, the tables piled high with fresh salads, the desert gazebo (thats right... a whole gazebo dedicated to my favourite course), and the traditional Christmas buffet line. As if the lure of delicious food wasn't enough, there were even prizes! Bottles of wine and gift certificates were given out to lucky employees. After dinner the dance floor above the sea opened up and we all danced to hits from the last year under the starry sky. A perfect winter party if you ask me!
Now, one might assume that only KPMG offers such classy events, and that would be wrong. The weekend previous to the KPMG party we were generously given tickets to the holiday benefit soiree to honour the National Caribbean Conservation Institute. Working towards protecting the reefs and ocean life, this lavish affair is held annually and is best known for it's Silent Auction and Parade of Trees. Blake and I knew we were in for a good night when we found that the tickets cost $150 each, and the dress code was Black Tie Formal (unfortunately this was at the end of Movember, so Blake looked more like a cross of business man/creepy car sales man). We were greeted at the entrance with a glass of sangria and guide for the evening. We at once started a tour of the trees, only to learn we were much further out of our realm than we had initially believed. The trees and gifts were going for no less than $1000. Attempting to look as classy and well-to-do as possible we searched out our table and seated ourselves. Glass bottles of tonic water had been imported from Austria. A large bottle of wine sat in front of each plate setting and a basket in the middle held all the accoutrements that one could ever imagine. We were seated at a table with two girls from KPMG and the owners of the Luxury Island Charters company. Seated at the next table were the CEO's of the Camana Bay enterprise (MASSIVE real estate) and the best known architect on island. In the middle of the room was the Governor. When dinner arrived we were treated to the most amazing feast put together by different high end restaurants on island. The Butternut squash soup was delectable. The fresh cranberry salad followed by prime rib with lightly roasted asparagus were followed by an artistic mousse and personal size cupcakes. While we ate dinner we were treated to a slideshow honouring the work of the Institute. It wasn't until after supper when we were treated to the real show. A live auction of the Christmas Trees. Every dollar going towards the institute. The more modest trees sold for $1500. The rest sold for around $3000. The largest surprise came when the MC asked for donations to the Institute. A bidding war took place and one man forked over $5000 that evening. Overwhelmed by the affluence around us, Blake and I slipped out the back doors that evening after the auction. It was enlightening to see the money that really is on this island. There is such an abundance of cash that it makes the recession seem far far away... or at least it did for the evening. Blake and I darted the four blocks to the other side of the Camana Bay Complex where we jumped in our dirty squealing jalopy and prayed we would make it home with out the crankshaft belt breaking.

Pictured above: Christmas tree on auction, Dinner photo, KPMG xmas party