by Debbi | Dec 11, 2009 | Christmas, Good Things, Trinkets and Toys
Twelve extremely cool Sandbar themed gifts would seem like an easy blog idea, but I have to admit it came to me in a very roundabout manner.
The other day at my "real job," I got a rare spam email. I say spam only because it was an unsolicited email from a company I've never heard of, but it wasn't anything sneaky or poorly spelled. It happened to have pictures of cute socks, so I clicked to their website and promptly fell in love.
Hence, the inspiration for "12 Days of Sandbar Christmas Gifts."
Day 1: Shark Bite Socks
Anyone who loves our famous Shark Attack drink needs a pair of these socks. How could you not smile when wearing something like this?
Day 2: Palm Tree & Coconuts Salt & Pepper Shaker
I died laughing when I saw this set- it's exactly the sort of cheese that we love at The Sandbar and would be a perfect gift for our annual holiday gift exchange. Somehow I think boys, especially, might like this one.
Day 3: Pirate Lego Magnets
We love all things pirate. And who doesn't love Legos? They even have real magnets so you can keep them on your fridge or your file cabinet or wherever else they'll stick.
Day 4: Parrot Christmas Holiday Tree Art Thing
Not really sure where to start with this one. Most of the 12 days of gifts are things I'd dearly love to own. Not so much this one. It's rather unique. I suppose if you like to feed the birds, and you like parrots, and Santa, then you might like this. (It kind of looks like a rainbow-ish Jayhawk, too).
Day 5: Tiki Tissue Box
Can't get enough of the Sandbar hurricane and Tiki Ted? Get a Tiki Tissue Box. This box is sized to hold a standard tissue box, and he'll blow Kleenex out his nose. Really, I can't make this stuff up.
Day 6: Mermaid Cookbook
Need a gift idea for kids (or fun-loving adults)? Check out this mermaid cookbook, with recipes like Sea Foam Foats and Goldfish Gorp. I actually own this cookbook (thanks to Michelle!) and can vouch for it's coolness.
Day 7: Jimmy Buffett's new CD, Buffet Hotel
I should be slapped upside the head with a giant vinyl shark for forgetting that this CD was released just a few days ago (December 8, to be exact). Jimmy Buffett, hero of everyone who needs a little escape from life now and then, has another new CD just in time to fill your stockings.
Day 8: Beer Chapstick
Some of the options above a little too spendy for you? This stocking stuffer will set you back about the price of a drink. Yum, beer flavored kisses.
Day 9: Great White Shark Slippers
For all the shark lovers out there, here's a little something for your feet to keep them warm. I wonder if these come in Dave's size…
Day 10: The ShotCarver
Make your own shot glass using a piece of fruit and this little gadget. See, I'm helping you find ways to make drinking alcohol just a little bit more healthy.
Day 11: My Little Sandbox
Need a reminder of the beach for your desk? A toy for the kids when they can't go outside? Here's your very own tiny sandbox to play with when you need some stress relief.
Day 12: Mermaid Wine Bottle Holder
Our last gift in the series. A hand cut, hand finished, colored steel mermaid is ready to hold your favorite wine bottle. Ironic, a little, since we're not exactly a wine bar. But it's a neat gift anyway.
We hope you enjoyed our 12 Days of Sandbar Christmas Gift series! We'll do it again next year.
by Debbi | Dec 1, 2009 | Christmas, Events, Newsworthy, People
Got plans for Saturday morning? Join us downtown this Saturday, December 5, at the Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade!
This is the 16th year of the annual event, and The Sandbar is proud to be a sponsor. Our Friday bartender Phil serves as the parade chair, and owner Peach's good friend and neighbor, Elaine VanDeventer, is the parade's executive director.
The parade starts at 11 a.m. in downtown Lawrence and features nearly 100 entrants, all of which are horse-drawn.
Want to get even more involved? There are plenty of additional opportunities available: donate funds large or small, volunteer your time, or even participate in the parade!
This is a great event to take the whole family to- how many towns can claim an entire parade of horse-drawn carriages? If you take any pictures, email them to us or upload them to the Parade's Facebook page.
Don't forget to stop by The Sandbar after the parade for a refreshing drink!
Read about the Parade in the Lawrence Journal-World
Become a fan of the Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade on Facebook
RSVP to the event
by Debbi | Dec 31, 2008 | Christmas
And now for the final installment of Sandbar Christmas party stories- the annual white elephant/present stealing game we like to play.
The rules are that everyone who wants to play has to bring a wrapped gift valued around $10. I say "wrapped" loosely- while most of the gifts are in recycled holiday gift bags, a few are actually wrapped with real wrapping paper or sometimes newspaper, and a few gifts have been known to show up in plastic Walmart bags or worse.
The value is another loose term that is interpreted all kinds of ways. We've had random helmets that were found lying by the side of the road; broken VCR's that someone ought to be able to fix; and other remnants left over from someone's grandma's closet.
Some of the gifts exchanged this year:
Pat unwrapped a gaudy woman statue that unsurprisingly was stolen the maximum number of times- three; while John looked thrilled about his frog face "tree art" that is hard to see because of glare.
Andrew brought a pair of gym shorts apparently intended for a certain football coach who will remain nameless. Jen received what might possibly be the most literal gift yet- an actual white elephant.
Other gifts of the evening included "Howdy Doody," the book "How to Talk to Girls," a pair of Joe boxers (which unfortunately Joe didn't get), a palm tree light that Dave quickly confiscated for the bar, a random bag of gifts recycled from past gift exchanges, and a very popular ring toss game.
The scariest gift, however, has found a permanent home at The Sandbar. You might have seen it staring back at you when you're in a rather vulnerable position:
Happy New Year to all of our faithful fans! Have fun tonight whatever you decide to do, and remember to be safe. The Sandbar is, once again, helping to sponsor Tipsy Taxi in Lawrence. If you need a ride home between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., call 842-TAXI and specifically request Tipsy Taxi. They'll take you home.
by Debbi | Dec 30, 2008 | Christmas
And now, back to last week’s Sandbar Christmas party,
because I know you’re all just dying to hear about the crazy costumes and the
gift exchange extravaganza.
We started the new tradition of wearing our best Christmas
attire at last year’s party. It seems like everyone is starting to have some
version of the tacky Christmas sweater party, but even if it’s becoming
overdone it’s still a good time. We all had so much fun laughing at everyone
else that we’ve decided to keep doing it.
Dave, of course, had to be different- he pulled out his
well-used Elf costume (made himself, with a combination of sewing and hot
glue). Coleen found a lovely Christmas tree sweater that she actually used to
wear out on the family’s Christmas tree farm. It helped to sell lots of
Christmas trees. Danny recycled last year’s sweater, which was recycled from
Christmas long ago.
Mike and Kalissa were in the running early in the night for
the grand prize when they showed up in matching home-decorated sweaters,
complete with a photo of themselves and the words “Holiday Bliss Forever.†It doesn’t
get much better than that…but it did.
Former staffer Tyler arrived in a slim-fitting women’s
sweater, complete with a Christmas tree and a hole in the back, probably from
the moths inhabiting whatever dark hole he pulled the sweater from. Erick, who
told us last year that his mom bought him and the siblings new holiday sweaters
every year and therefore should have lots to choose from, showed up in regular
clothes.
Joe’s patient girlfriend let him borrow her grandmother’s
short mink coat, complete with dangling pom-poms and the price tag intact. And
Jen arrived straight from the Lawrence Welk holiday special. She even had a
Christmas corsage.
But our big winner of the night, based on audience applause,
was Blair. He was decked in Christmas boxers, a matching plaid Santa hat, and a
whimsical reindeer themed shirt.Unfortunately, the winning part of his costume also prevents me from posting a picture of it here.
It was fitting that Blair won the grand prize. What did he
win? The movie “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,†which in Sandbar
gift-giving tradition had Chris and Blair’s faces Photoshopped onto the
characters.
Tomorrow: A look back at some the night's best gifts.
by Debbi | Dec 24, 2008 | Christmas
After a too-short bus ride, the Sandbar Christmas party made it back home safe and sound. We set out some food, set up a gift table, and waited for the rest of the staff and friends to get there…
It didn't take long for the guests to arrive. Pretty soon the bar was packed full of tacky Christmas sweaters and badly wrapped gifts. Drinks were flowing and games were getting started. Dave set up the much-anticipated Tippy Cup table and teams were chosen. They originally tried to play in the back room; if you've ever played this game, especially with this group, you'll know that the fish tank in the back room was in serious jeopardy very quickly. The table was moved out into the main bar.
After a few rounds of Tippy Cup and beverages, we started the gift exchange around 9:45.
Another post this week- or next- will highlight the gifts and the costumes.
The Sandbar will be closed today, Christmas Eve, and might be open tomorrow night. It depends on whether a few staff members want to come in on their holiday or not.
by Debbi | Dec 23, 2008 | Christmas
The annual Sandbar Christmas party was on Sunday and I promised I would share some stories here today. I also have about eighty pictures to choose from, although I'm not sure how many of those are suitable for the internet. But, that didn't stop Pat from posting them on Facebook….
Anyway, the party was fun. Of course it was, we're a fun bunch of people. Everyone was encouraged to wear their best Christmas attire. Andrew was in charge of transportation this year. Since he can't tend bar yet, we like to give him other jobs to make him feel important. They're really the jobs no one else wants, but he doesn't need to know that.
Andrew did a great job of setting us up with a party bus that picked us up at The Sandbar at 4:30. (We start our parties early.) We headed south to Ottawa and the new Sandbar Subs shop that will be opening next month. I'll tell you all about the shop in another post, but trust me, you're going to want to check this place out.
We joined the staffs from the Sandbar in Ottawa, the Lodge in Baldwin City, the Crystal Plaza movie theater, and the folks from the new sub shop. Peach and her crew put out food, we toured the new building, and spent a lot of time playing the video games upstairs. And we experimented with new drinks. Ask Heather about the Captain Morgan suicides next time you see her.
After a few hours, it was time to head back to Lawrence. Though we were sad to depart the fun in Ottawa, we all looked forward to the bus ride home. It's always a little more…interesting on the trip home.
Tomorrow: The Party Arrives in Lawrence
Oh, and for those of you who celebrated today, Happy Festivus!
