Mountain Mayhem: Mele Kalikimaka

It felt more like Hawaii than Aspen last weekend at a summer Christmas party on a piping hot day. Glenn Jeffers welcomed friends to his home on Willoughby Way for a “Holiday Ho-Ho-Hoedown,” combining Christmas cheer with Western flair. Holiday decorations by the Aspen Branch were set about such as a towering tree trimmed with red velvet bows and shiny ornaments, as well as wrapped presents for the younger set. Naturally, a visit from Santa took place partway through the party – though some noticed he closely resembled one of the gents behind the open-air bar who briefly went missing from mixing drinks at one point. Chef Adam Norwig prepared a Thanksgiving-style buffet spread of turkey, mashers, cranberries, greens, rolls and more. And Christmas tunes were in rotation, of course. Jen Bruno-Hartley’s Aspen Event Solutions team kept all rolling like clockwork from day into night.

Glenn got the idea for the themed event when he was recently listening to holiday music. He later threw in the cowboy twist and then ended up wearing a Hawaiian shirt himself, indicating creative license could be taken in practically any direction. “It even snowed,” he joked, referring to the billowy cottonwood in the air. And although he suggested the name for this article be “Jews for Jesus in June,” I opted for the holiday greeting in Hawaiian, which felt like a better fit given the warm-weathered Christmas celebration. Mele Kalikimaka!