Photos by Samantha Jane Beatty
Styling by Todd Ramos
Model Jerry Raines for Neal Hamil Agency
Grooming by Briana Dai
Photography assistance by John Lewis
Styling assistance by Tyler Treadwell
Shot on location at The Barn at Four Pines Ranch in Crosby
Big Casino
Brennan's jingle bells
Brennan’s is bedecked in festive decor, and each lunchtime guest will receive a beautiful sleigh bell strung on a long colorful ribbon to jingle through the season. This Brennan family tradition began decades ago at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans and is now enjoyed by patrons of all Brennan restaurants, who collect the featured bells each year. Bells are offered at weekday lunch beginning Dec. 1. Make lunch reservations here.
Holiday tea at Four Seasons
Bring the kiddos (or not!) for an interactive Gingerbread Tea at Toro Toro on Dec. 17 from 12-2pm. Along with hot teas, pastries and sparkling wine, guests can partake in decorating gingerbread houses and enjoy a visit from Santa ($95 per guest, free for children 5 and under).
This lovely Underbelly Hospitality concept in Regent Square is taking festivities to its rooftop Dec. 8 (2-6pm, tickets $5) for its Holiday Sip & Shop. The festive and fashionable afternoon will offer gifts from Colores Collective, Paris Texas Apparel Co., Kendra Scott, French Cuff Boutique and more. Shop until you drop while enjoying handcrafted spritzes, bubbles and light bites. Why drive from store to store when you can shop in one place and have fun?!
Holiday Chalet at Stella's
The cool, intimate bar in the luxe Post Oak Hotel is abuzz with its Holiday Chalet décor, chocolate fondue and festive holiday cocktails. Come thirsty for seven different libations hot and cold, including the smoked old fashioned. If holiday shopping, pick up a bottle of wine for take-away at thirty percent off. The gussied-up hotel is a fun stroll for Houston visitors this season and Stella’s is an impressive refueling stop for drinks and substantial appetizers.
Christmas concoctions at Rosie Cannonball
On Dec. 3, chef Chris Shepherd will take over the kitchen at Rosie’s for the release party of William Chris Wanderer Series IV wine. The wine is a collaboration between Texas winery William Chris and MML Hospitality that benefits the Southern Smoke Foundation. The special menu — think fire-roasted Cha Ca-style redfish — sounds superb.
Through Dec. 30, catch the Holly Jolly Holiday Bar located at this new Downtown club. The halls will be decked with floor-to-ceiling tinsel, ornaments, and more, allowing you to immerse yourself from every angle. Each ticket includes a 90-minute reservation and a holiday-themed welcome cocktail or mocktail. Additional drinks and holiday-themed bites will be available for purchase. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, all are welcome to gather at this holiday pop-up bar for cocktails and entertainment. Expect several ticket options including brunch; check them all out at this ticket site.
Eat, drink and be merry this holiday season with a lineup of festive cocktails, a holiday prix-fixe menu, Tuesday Night Lasagna Night, and of course, a New Year’s Eve dinner and celebration. This Spring Branch-area favorite greets guests with holiday decor and a special four-course dinner ($72 per person). In addition to the regular dinner menu, highlights include charred octopus, rabbit sausage, lobster bisque, short rib pappardelle, flounder, and cheesecake with peppermint bark.
Doris Met's Snow Ball
Doris Metropolitan’s SnowBall returns this year on the evening of Dec. 14. Step into a winter wonderland while enjoying drink specials and beats from DJ Just Vi. Guests are encouraged to come decked out in white attire. The party begins at 9pm and seating is limited — call the restaurant for reservations.
Through Dec. 31, the kitschy holiday pop-up bar Miracle is back at local watering holes Johnny’s Gold Brick, Winnie’s and Galveston’s Daiquiri Time Out. Get cozy at one of the most over-the-top nostalgic holiday settings for festive libations like the Christmapolitan and The Krampus. Johnny’s takes reservations via Resy, while Winnie’s will be open for walk-ins only.
'Caribbean Blues' by Baptiste
It was the perfect way to bring folks together at a cross-cultural (and very Houston) gathering for an artist whose paintings, sculptures, and works on paper speak to his Haitian heritage, the politics that compel people to leave their homeland in search of a safer life, and the surreal experience of feeling both welcome and unwelcome in a nation of immigrants.
Baptiste relocated to Houston in 2013, and became an American citizen last year. After passing the tests, swearing the oath of allegiance, and receiving a little American flag, he was surprised at how strange it felt to suddenly be an American but still Haitian.
“I speak Haitian, I still speak English with an accent, and I just received this paper that says, ‘Hey, you’re American.’” says Baptiste. “But what does that look like?”
Inspired by a photograph his wife took of him soaking in a bathtub after an exhausting day of exploring a coffee plantation in Mexico, where the couple observed people grinding coffee by hand, Baptiste addresses that question with “Soaking Adjustment,” one of the most oblique yet revealing paintings in Dyaspora. “It’s like half of me is being washed off,” says Baptiste of the self-portrait, with its large swaths of empty, blank space. “But my head is above water as if to say, ‘Hey, remember: I’m Haitian too.”
The sun, painted in bright yellow and orange, appears in several paintings in Dyaspora. Baptiste began thinking about the sun in relation to his art after a discussion with a friend who, like so many other Haitian immigrants, had made the arduous journey from Haiti to the Texas border on foot through heavily forested stretches of land where trees block one’s view of the sky. In “Caribbean Blues,” two young girls calmly navigate a tiny raft in deep blue waters, each one holding a rooster, the patterns of their clothing matching the landscape behind them. It’s a beautiful, but unnerving image. These two are on their own, but the sun hovers above them, like a compass for a journey, and a symbol of hope for a new day.
In a space adjacent to the exhibit is a room of Haitian artifacts from the collection of Sledge Leonidas, vice chairman for Houston Haitians United. The array of objects, including small standing statues, masks, hand drums, and seashells transforms Dyaspora into an even more immersive experience for the viewer. On Dec. 7 at The Jung Center of Houston, Leonidas will join Baptiste for a discussion about the show and their shared heritage and histories.
'Petite Soeur (Little Sister)' by Baptiste