MEET & EAT HOLIDAY PARTIES
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The Inn at St. John’s Grande Ballroom features plenty of festive options for holiday events.
MAKING MERRY
Planning that perfect holiday gathering becomes a piece of cake when you leave the festive details to the pros at these metro Detroit favorites. B Y K H R I S T I S . Z I M M E T H
the one putting together the company’s annual holiday party. There’s no need for undue seasonal stress, however, say local party planners. Organizing the perfect get-together can be as easy as making your list, checking it twice, and calling one of the locations below. All are experts at making your upcoming event both fresh and festive, whatever its size.
The Inn at St. John’s: Classy and Jolly From the smallest accommodation with 300 square feet to the largest, the Grande Ballroom with almost 7,000, there is plenty of room for holiday events at The Inn at St. John’s, in Plymouth. It won Best Hotel with Meeting/ Event Space under 200 rooms and Best Service
in the Michigan Meetings + Events Best of 2019 readers’ choice awards. Still owned by the Archdiocese of Detroit, the Romanesque Revival resort on the grounds of a former seminary is a favorite venue for parties of all types and sizes, says Tawyna Johnson, director of sales and marketing. The inn opened in 2006. “Large parties with holiday candy themes, winter wonderland, black tie themes, even murder mysteries are among the types of successful past events,” she says. “We also host many intimate gatherings focused more on the dining experience.” Perusing the inn’s 28-page menu of culinary options, it’s not difficult to see why. Options
include a brunch, with specialties, such as crème brulee French toast, to a lunch buffet with choices such as roasted beet-chevre ravioli, phyllo-crusted Lake Michigan whitefish or blue cheese stuffed center cut filet mignon. Room for dessert? There is hazelnut espresso crème brulee or orange creamsicle cheesecake, among others. Specialty food stations also are available, with everything from a chilled shellfish or sushi spread to a mashed potato bar, artisan sliders or a Zingerman’s creamery display. And if that weren’t enough, St. John’s creates an annual holiday celebrations plated menu, with sweet potato bisque with gingerbread croutons, winter squash risotto with cranberries and eggnog pot de crème for dessert among last year’s offerings. “We offer some classic holiday items as well as unique takes on traditional Christmas
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IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME of the year—unless you’re
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