Conflict Free
Find the magic date and time that works with everyone's schedule with Doodle.com, an online scheduling tool. Instead of sending out multiple e-mails or meeting invites with just one option, Doodle lets you propose several date/times. Recipients respond with their availability via a nifty online poll. The basic version is free; a more advanced premium version also is available (contact the company for pricing information). doodle.com
Tea for You
MoMA Store's sleek tea-stick infuser makes a great gift, especially when paired with a selection of loose teas. Cost for tea stick: $24; bulk discounts on corporate gifts are available. (800) 851.4509; momastore.org
Little Black Box
Black Box Dessert Club scours the world for the best artisanal sweets from sustainable, small-batch sources. The swanky wax-sealed box they're delivered in makes recipients feel like they're part of a secret club. Cost: from $85. (646) 584-6006; blackboxdessertclub.com
One Hot Ticket
Pingg.com's new full-service ticketing platform lets you design, sell and track event ticketing online. Guests receive tickets via e-mail and pay through PayPal, letting you collect funds quickly and easily. The site's mobile app also lets you track and scan tickets (embedded with QR codes) at the door. Cost: $1 per ticket. Pingg.com
Lollipop Guild
Simply Sweet Arrangements' custom centerpieces are made up of individually wrapped chocolate lollipops. Guests can eat them for dessert or take them home as a favor. Contact for pricing information. (212) 925-2965; simplysweetarrangements.com
Paint Date
Jenny Dietz, a San Diego-based sales manager at Access Destination Services, says one of her most popular corporate social responsibility options for groups are mural beautification projects at local schools or other facilities. Dietz hires an artist to outline the mural, on an outside or inside wall, and attendees fill in the rest, paint-by-numbers-style. Depending on the size of the mural, Dietz says the project can last from a couple of hours to a half a day and involve groups as large as 300. (619) 299-2200; accessdmc.com
Flower Power
St-Germain, a sweet liqueur made from elderflower blossoms, is delicious topped off with champagne or as the sweet note in something more complex. Pietro Didio, manager of the Ozone bar at the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong (852-2263-2263; ritzcarlton.com/hongkong), uses this liqueur-of-the-moment in his Dragontini cocktail (recipe below), created to celebrate the year of the dragon:
40 ml vodka
10 ml St Germain
20 ml raspberry puree
10 ml lemon juice
Pinch of sugar
Basil and yuzu (Asian citrus fruit) foam
Dried raspberries
Slice of dragon fruit
Bowled Over
Pre-Prohibition-style drinks add a bit of dapper style to any gathering. Try a festive punch served in a classic punch bowl, like the concoction from the Windsor Court Hotel (504-596-4798; windsorcourthotel.com), ingredients listed below:
5 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac
5 oz Cruzan rum
5 oz fresh lemon
5 oz cardamom syrup (cardamom added to simple syrup)
Et Tu, Bacon?
The Whistler, British Columbia-based Bearfoot Bistro gives its take on the Bloody Mary a smoky kick with a homemade bacon-infused vodka. Ingredients for the Bacon-Infused Caesar, as the drink is called, below:
45 ml homemade bacon vodka (combine rendered bacon fat in liquid form with room temperature vodka at a ratio of one part fat to four parts vodka; steep for eight hours; freeze, cut fat, filter and strain)
15 ml Cinzano Rosso vermouth
20 ml Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce
120 ml Motts Clamato juice
Two dashes of Fee Brothers celery bitters
The juice of one lime wedge
Dehydrated beer powder
Celery salt
Cerignola olives for garnish
Sustainable Sip
The unique and refreshing treetini, created by the folks at VeeV Acai Spirit, can be used as a CSR initiative: For every treetini cocktail sold, a tree is planted by the company (contact VeeV at veevlife.com/treetini/ for CSR information). Ingredients, below:
2 oz VeeV Acai Spirit
.75 oz agave nectar (or simple syrup)
4 lime wedges
6 mint leaves
Club soda
Tall Order
Beer Tubes, 3.5-foot-tall tabletop dispensers that hold 100-plus ounces of beer or any other type of beverage, can be set up at drink stations or right at guests' tables. Bases come in 25 different styles and themes and can be customized with logos. Cost: $119 per beer tube (price varies depending on base style). (614) 769-1569; beertubes.com
*Note that some locales have laws about the amount of alcohol that can be served at one time, so check first with local contacts.
Guy Gathering
Shannon Silva, director of event sales at Stingaree in San Diego, recently planned a "man cave" event for a group of 60 men from an off-shore drilling company. Before attending a San Diego Chargers football game, the group blew off steam in their own private party complete with Xbox, foosball, grilling stations, local craft beers, cigar-rolling lessons and other testosterone-charged activities. The idea can work in any location. (619) 704-1721; stingsandiego.com