Thanksgiving is around the corner, yet signs of Christmas have popped up all over the country. Store decorations are in full swing, houses are ornamented with flashy lights and our stress levels are starting to go through the roof. Luckily, Mixbook’s CreateCelebrate Holiday Pop-Up, a special holiday event, helped to ease the tension.
Mixbook is a design tool for customizable photo products and services, including photo books, cards, calendars and more. Last Saturday, Mixbook delighted event guests with holiday-themed activities, free food and an overall good time at the Publik Coffee Event Space in Salt Lake City.
Unsurprisingly, I was completely mesmerized as soon as I walked through the doors. Events like these can be incredibly awkward by yourself. Thankfully, the staff was well-prepared to make each and every guest feel welcome. They sought conversation and suggested various stations to participate in. It’s easy for those running the show to get caught up in the mayhem, but this was surely not the case on Saturday.
While some people, including myself, attended the event alone, most visitors had their family in tow. CreateCelebrate was a child-friendly environment which allowed both parents and children to fully enjoy themselves. Mothers had their hair and makeup touched up by Jane representatives while their children busied themselves with stamps and sparkly pens. The personalized photo book and card-making activities kept the small ones especially busy. According to Leslie Albertson, lead planner of the event, “It was really about bringing together creatives and those that aspire to be creative, and celebrating that creativity.”
Not only were the guests creative, but so were the brands and businesses that Mixbook worked with. They reached out to food vendors, local businesses, influencers, content creators and social media personalities to make the event come alive.
“We wanted to … find the right partners that could bring our vision to life,” Albertson said.
This is exactly what Mixbook did. All of the stations seemed to complement one another nicely, and the decorations made the room feel whole. Anagram Balloons was the event’s “exclusive balloon partner,” in the words of Albertson. The balloons ornamented the room and created an interesting point of focus. Personally, I loved that addition. The House That Lars Built, Jane, At Home With Ashley, Ashley’s Fresh Fix and Hint were some of the other partners who helped to make the event. Hint provided a holiday mocktail bar which was alcohol-free and catered to both adults and children. I could not forget tasty food vendors involved, including San Diablo Churros, Monsieur Crepes and Maize Food Truck.
“[We were] really wanting to find folk we thought would help bring the colorful, creative concept to life,” Albertson said.
The most special aspect of the occasion, however, was not the free gifts or food. The best part was seeing families spending time together. Between work, school and life, squeezing in quality time can be tough. Mixbook’s CreateCelebrate Holiday Pop-Up provided an additional two hours for parents to spend with their little rascals. Joy radiated from the tiny humans rushing from table to table. This is what the holidays are all about: family and happiness.
The sold-out event was special, and I can only hope Mixbook decides to bring their creativity to Utah in the future. In the meantime, I might just hop online and customize my own holiday book. The personal touch might just be what we need to create unforgettable gifts this season.