Kathleen Riley (from left), Schyler Cole, LaBreshia Taylor and Erin Flettrich enjoyed the Holiday Dance.
Instead of pulling a sleigh, the Reindear used a truck to transport almost 300 Teddy bears collected at the Reindear Roundup on Wednesday night at Clark Opera Center.
Guests were asked to bring a new, nonseasonal Teddy bear to the annual event. The bears are given to children throughout the year at the Memphis Child Advocacy Center.
The Reindear Roundup began 12 years ago, said Mike McNeer, one of the Reindear hosts. They began giving bears to Memphis Child Advocacy Center five years ago. At least one toy rabbit and monkey made it into this year's Teddy bear toy pile.
Why "Reindear" instead of "Reindeer"? "'Cause we're all very dear," joked John Barzizza, who, along with his wife, Wanda, is one of the Reindear hosts.
Prime Cut performed.
Jingle Bell parties
It was pretty much Wallabees for the boys and no shoes for the girls at the jam-packed Holiday Dance, one of the Jingle Bell Ball parties at Gibson Guitar Factory. Young women usually get rid of their shoes as soon as they arrive at the ballroom.
The Jingle Bell Ball was held at The Peabody for 20 years, but Pat Kerr Tigrett, founder and general chairman, held the party at Gibson this year because the space she needed at the hotel was booked. Utilizing the decorations from The Blues Ball, which was held the previous night, Pat threw four Jingle Bell Ball parties in addition to the Holiday Dance for seventh- and eighth-graders: The Children's Cookie Party for toddlers through second grade; Jingle Bell Rock for third- through fourth-graders; Mistletoe Mash for fifth- and sixth-graders; and the Special Kids Party for children from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South and other nonprofit agencies.
About 4,000 attended The Jingle Bell Ball.
Toast for Toys
From the look of the massive pile of toys beneath the Christmas tree at Memphis Pink Palace Museum, somebody must have been a very good boy or girl this year.
Make that plural. The toys were gathered for the children at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis at the recent Toast for Toys party. Guests were asked to bring a toy.
More than 200 people attended and more than $45,000 was raised, said Jon Van Hoozer, who chaired the event with Lisa Hume.
A portion of the proceeds from the party supports the cost of each club's holiday party and ensures that every member receives a Christmas gift, Jon said.
Party Planet performed.
Crawl for a cause
Those Stumbling Santas were at it again. More than 500 people dressed as Santa or some Christmas character gathered Dec. 5 at the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium to begin their annual pub crawl.
Guests were asked to bring a toy for the Ronald McDonald House. "I couldn't tell you exactly how many toys or money was raised, but the Ronald McDonald House van that came to pick (them) up was chock full and didn't have room for any more," said Bob Burditt, one of the Stumbling Santas founders.
The Flying Saucer held a silent auction for the Ronald McDonald House in conjunction with the crawl.
Contact Michael Donahue at 529-2797 or e-mail donahue@commercialappeal.com
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