It’s Never Too Early To Celebrate Christmas…Is It?


Hilton Garden Inn Celebrates โ€˜Christmas In Julyโ€™ With Food, Santa & Fun!ย 

Congratulations to Lisa Moore (to Santaโ€™s left), Bradley Sandler and everyone at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel (26640 Silver Maple Pkwy., off S.R. 56), for hosting a super-successful (and FREE!) โ€œChristmas in Julyโ€ event. 

โ€œThe whole idea was to let the community know that we have great rooms where we can host your next business or family holiday party,โ€ Moore said during the event, โ€œand a large catering menu with a wide selection of delicious food that we make in-house and everything else you need to make your party special.โ€ 

The Christmas in July event had Santa Claus himself, DJ music, a premium liquor bar, lots of great raffles prizes, a charcuterie table (below), fresh fruit and hot appetizers like mini egg rolls and crab cakes, meatballs and more. 

To book your next party, call Moore at (813) 591-6930 or email her at lisamoore2@ hilton.com. Or, call Sandler at (813) 591-6907 or email him at bradley.sandler@hilton.com. โ€” GN, all photos by Charmaine George 

Hyatt Place Hotel Also Gets Into The Christmas Spirit With Its โ€˜Jingle Mingleโ€™ย 

We also give kudos to (l.-r. in photo right) assistant GM Brian Jackman, director of sales Lorna Petchey and GM Gerald Mandosia of the Hyatt Place Hotel Tampa-Wesley Chapel (26000 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) for its impressive (also FREE) โ€œJingle Mingle,โ€ which featured amazing samples of foods you can get from the hotelโ€™s in-house catering department โ€” like pomegranate-glazed, mint chimichurri lamb chops (below right), extra large shrimp cocktail (bottom right), mini-beef Wellingtons and mini-crab cakes, a Sโ€™mores station โ€” plus holiday-themed cocktails (The Grinch, Mrs. Claus Punch & more), a DJ and both Santa and Mrs. Claus (above) in the hotelโ€™s beautiful Sierra Conference Center ballroom that you can โ€” and should โ€” reserve for your upcoming holiday party.ย 

For more info, call Lorna Petchey at (813) 803-5600. โ€” GN

Recapping The Hyatt Placeโ€™s โ€˜Jingle Mingleโ€™ย 

A lot of local businesses offer โ€œChristmas in Julyโ€ events, but very few that Iโ€™ve been to can match the free โ€œJingle Mingleโ€ event hosted by the Hyatt Place Tampa-Wesley Chapel hotel (located at 26000 Sierra Center Blvd., just north and west of the S.R. 56 exit off I-75, Lutz) on July 31. 

Sure, lots of places have had Santa Claus himself (bottom photo) on hand and available for free pictures at their events, and some may even have had some free food available, but the Hyatt Place management saw this as an opportunity to introduce the local community to the beautiful ballroom and delicious catering available at the hotel โ€” in case you or someone you know wants to host a holiday event there. 

Among the tasty treats served at the Jingle Mingle were small, plated samples of holiday-inspired dishes โ€” like grilled orange salmon on a bed of tasty rice with fresh asparagus (top), oven-roasted chicken with house-made cranberry sauce and an addictive sweet potato mash and braised short ribs with red wine sauce, accompanied by a baby carrot medley and mashed potatoes. And, all of them were actually as appealing to the palette as they were to the eyes. 

But of course, for yours truly, the highlight was the full-on sโ€™mores station (above left), complete with graham crackers, Hersheyโ€™s chocolate bars and your choice of mini or huge marshmallows, plus skewers and โ€œhot flamesโ€ to toast those marshmallows. Absolutely decadent!ย 

Each adult attendee also received a ticket for a free holiday-themed cocktail (e.g., a โ€œWhite Christmas Margarita,โ€ โ€œTipsy Reindeerโ€ and more), plus vendors like Florida Ave. Brewing Co. and Thirsty Buffalo gave away free beer samples. And, PopStroke, Main Event and Metro Lagoons were on hand, and there was a free photo booth, other desserts and more. 

The event also helped remind attendees that the hotel also will again host a full-on Thanksgiving buffet and this year, a New Yearโ€™s Eve gala that hotel director of sales Lorna Petchey promises will not be cancelled this time. 

For more information about the Hyatt Place, call (813) 803-5600, visit Hyatt.com or email Lorna.Petchey@Hyatt.com to book your own holiday party ASAP. โ€” GN