4 Comp Christmas shows and It's not even December

Sometime, mid November, my son said, "What's up with you momma, it's almost Thanksgiving and we haven't done any Christmas things yet."

So apparently I am one of "those" people. After Halloween; Christmas!!!

I had been playing Holiday music since October but I did realize that I hadn't even bought my Christmas Spectacular tickets which I have bought as early as August. 

So I immediately started searching my number one website for show tickets; clubfreetime.com. And then my second favorite, goldstar.com. 

On http://www.clubfreetime.com/new-york-city-nyc/free-discount-complimentary-tickets-theater-concerts-shows-dance you pay an annual fee of $20 and you can get complimentary tickets to various shows for a fee of $4.50 per ticket.

On https://www.goldstar.com/new-york, there are discount tickets to Broadway shows, events, and off-Broadway shows.  There are some complimentary tickets with a $7.50 per ticket service charge.

On Monday, November 23rd, we attended our first free holiday show with tickets from club free time.

5th Annual Christmas in New York with Sandi Patty, Veritas, Regi Stone, and the American Festival Choir

Ok, so I didn't know any of the acts but I like Christmas music and it was at Carnegie Hall, which surprisingly I've never been too. 

I was a little one edge because of the seats, way up in the balcony. I'm not a friend of height but we made it to our seats and watched tons of frightened people creep to their seats before the shows.

 

The actual show was ok. Mostly because along with Christmas Carols there were also very religious themed Christmas songs. I tend to like my Christmas themed even more secular. We can debate this at another time. 

Some of the vocalist were very talented and it was a nice kick off to the holiday season.  I attended this show with my two children and my husband.  

I give it: ❄️❄️ out 5 snowflakes. 

The following day, Tuesday, November 24th I finally purchased my Christmas spectacular tickets with the 2 for 1 coupon code offered by McDonalds. 

We also went to see Santasia: A Holiday Comedy. These tickets were also comp tickets from clubfreetime.com. 

It was located in a small theater at 308 West 46th Street. We went there previously for a Christmas show that was just ok. 

Upon entering, all adults were given free wine and I knew this was going to be a good night. 

The night started well enough. I attended with my 19 year old sister, 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter. The show had video clips, skits and personal commentary. It started off wholesome and then it turned. There were f bombs and a somewhat strip show. I was entertained but uncomfortable because of my daughter. 

My sister commented that the adults laughed more than the children and she felt it was because of the wine.... 

Averaging in the kids opinions, I give it: ❄️❄️❄️

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 28th, I took my ten year old daughter to Fancy Nancy Spendiferous Christmas. The tickets were once again purchased from clubfreetime.com.

The show stated that it was best suited for kids 2-7 but we both really liked it. I don't know what that says about us....

It had a sweet story line. The 5 cast mates all had nice voices and the pace was quick enough to keep all of the preschool theater goers quietly entertained. 

This production gets: ❄️❄️❄️❄️

Our final pre-December Christmas show sent us back to Carnegie Hall. These were the only comp tickets that I purchased from Goldstar for these series of shows. 

We attended on November 29th. 

First we went to Macy's. 

With myself and my son and daughter and 19 year old sister,  we enjoyed the Charlie Brown windows and then went to see "Special Santa". If you don't know, "Special Santa" is African-American...

Upon leaving "Special Santa" my son said that it all got a little emotional. Not only did Santa tell us that he loved us but he also told us we were perfect as we were. ❤️❤️

After that we listened to Messiah...Refreshed. 

This was actually good. The kids felt it was an improvement from our other Carnegie Hall experience. 

❄️❄️❄️

Wedding 101

I've only blogged once this year so far. I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving of 2015! 

The main reason why I haven't blogged is because I spent the first part of the year planning wedding. 

On Christmas 2014, the man of my dreams asked me to be his wife.  I was so elated!  He is the perfect partner; smart, handsome, patient, loving, kind....  Let's just say I am a lucky gal.

From that day, forward the wedding planning started.  We chose the wedding date of Fourth of July, 2015.  A date neither one of us would forget.

I thought I'd use this blog to show how I could do the impossible.  Have an affordable wedding in Brooklyn, NY.  Here are my tips on how we kept it affordable and fun.

1.  Have a small wedding.

We aimed at inviting only 50 people.  With fewer people we could chose a smaller venue and also have fewer people to host.

Keeping the list small was so hard because I am one of 5 and my husband is one of 4.  The first thing was to only include our children in the wedding which already included my 2 and his 4.  We have 10 nieces and nephews so by just having our kids, it allowed us to include more adult friends and family.

I used the free website http://www.ewedding.com/ prior to sending out invitations because I wanted to know who could make it since it was a popular weekend so that I could invite more people if some people could not attend.



2.  Wedding Ceremony location

My wedding ceremony was held at the beautiful Japanese Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.  This venue allowed was excellent.  Both my husband and I regularly went to the gardens as children and revered it greatly.

These were the parameters.

• Only two ceremonies are permitted per day on Saturday and Sunday. 
• The ceremony must be held between 9 and 10 a.m.
• Fee: $450 for up to 50 people. Up to 10 additional guests may be permitted at a cost of $12 per person (60 persons maximum). The fee is nonrefundable.
• Ceremonies are held rain or shine. No indoor facility is available.
• Choice of Rose Garden, Osborne Garden, or Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, based upon availability.

These parameters helped to encourage us to keep to 50 people, 60 max.  It also made it so we would have a brunch reception which cut cost greatly.



http://www.bbg.org/visit/weddings_ceremony

New York City has a large amount of parks, gardens, farms, and zoos that offer affordable and memorable wedding options.

3.  Brunch Reception

My "froussin" (friend cousin) and matron of honor recommended a French restaurant Bacchus.  It was not too far from the wedding ceremony location.  After looking at other spots, I realized it was the perfect location.

Bacchus included:
                       3 courses prix fixe Brunch menu at $22.95 per person -   
                       Unlimited Mimosa and Belini at $6.00 per person per hour (minimum charge 3 hours)  

Everyone had a choice of salad and appetizer and chose from the following main course:

                    Black Angus hanger steak with home fries & mixed greens


                    Salmon Burger with avocado served with French fries and salad


                    Crab Cake Benedict served with home fries and Salad

 
The venue also decorated and made the menus for us.  They also included some of our decorations.  Meryl was absolutely amazing.

http://www.bacchusbistro.com/events/

4.  Music

My friend recommended her DJ friend; DJ Fly Ty and for $400 I had wonderful music and a friendly and professional DJ.

https://www.facebook.com/DJ-FLY-TY-288855919812/ 

5.  Wedding Build Up

The build up to the wedding was wonderful. I had a Bridal Shower thrown by my cousin/Matron of honor. 

I also was to two premarital shows in NY.

I saw The Bachelorette Show with my bestie.

I also saw Sex Tips for Straight Woman from a Gay Man with my sister.




Both show tickets were comp tickets from clubfreetime.com.  A $4.50 service fee per ticket was the only cost.

I've features this website in the past blog, "It's Showtime."

http://exposuremom.blogspot.com/2013/09/its-showtime.html

 

6. Bachelorette Party

My cousin also planned my bachelorette party in Florida. The details are on her blog:

http://www.villapompano.com/blog/2015/6/29/a-not-so-wild-weekend-in-florida.html

We vacationed at her vacation rental property and she used her miles to secure airfare.




7.  Wedding Cake!!!!!!!!!

My matron of honor has a dear friend Keli who makes some of the best desserts I've ever tasted in my life; and I have tasted many desserts.

I pride myself on my holiday chocolate chip cookies but her chocolate chip cookies make mine seem like chips ahoy.

She was my first choice for my wedding cake and she did not disappoint and her "framily" price was great.

If there is a baker in the family, that is a great way to keep costs down.










8.  Wedding Invitations








My cousin, who also happens to be my maid of honors mom, made my official wedding invitation. Celeste Morris handmade the paper for ever invitation.  It was an amazing gift!
 


My cousin Celeste also secured a free officiant for our wedding.

You got LOVE family!
 












9.  Free magazines and Event
To prepare and plan for the wedding, I attended 3 bridal expo's. It is a great way to get ideas for your wedding and even hire vendors. I went to each expo for free. I used a coupon code to offset the cost of two of the expo's. One had an original cost of $75!

One of my favorite events was hosted by target. It had snacks, which the kids love and champagne, which I loved. It allowed me to start a bridal registry and scan products for my registry at the event.
It also had demos of the uses of some products.

 The other that I enjoyed was the Wedding Salon. Tasting samples and a lot vendors.

Wedding Magazines.

I was able to subscribe for two free wedding magazines. One that I found on the about.com website when I searched for free wedding magazines. The other was from doing a registry with Sur La Table.



10.  Honeymoon

Another cousin offered an apartment in US Virgin Island, St Croix for my honeymoon.  What a splendid offer!

However, with all of the wedding planning my ideal honeymoon included sun, beach and all-inclusivity.

We used http://www.orbitz.com/.

I  found a great all-inclusive resort in Cozumel, Mexico.  It was a short enough flight so that we could maximize our visit.  The cost was low and we had a great time.  We stayed at El Cozumeleno.