In August, I celebrated my 45th birthday in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil) with a group of my closest friends. Some of my friends have been in my life since childhood while others are “instant” friends I have met over the span of my adult life. It was an extraordinary experience not simply because of the destination, but rather because of the people.
As you can tell from the Instagram photos below, I love a great gathering of intimates. The first photo was taken five years ago in Colombia and if you swipe left you will see the photo taken this past August.
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The question I always ask myself is how to thank the people who have taken their time and resources to celebrate with me? For my birthday celebration in Bahia, I decided that they should receive the personal touch.
During my birthday dinner at Restaurante Amado Bahia, I presented each of my guests with a gift bag that contained:
- A name tag that was made with mirrored plastic
- 2 monogrammed cloth napkins (one for the dinner and used as a part of their personal place-setting
- 2 monogrammed plate chargers
- 2 monogrammed stemless wine glasses
- 1 monogrammed dessert plate
- 1 monogrammed framed photograph of me with the friend receiving the gift
- 1 monogrammed lowball glass used at dinner
The wonderful staff at Amado washed the items used at dinner and returned them to my guests.
Hospitality, to me, means making sure others are comfortable and cared for during an event. As a host who happens to be an event planner, the thank-you gift has to be useful to the recipient as well as memorable. I hope I achieved that with my gifts. I hope they all know I am thankful for them.
Visit my Instagram account to see more photos.
Anthony