Gamers

The first question to ask when Nintendo and Brand About Town offer to host a party for you and 25 of your girlfriends is: What do I wear?

Well, actually the first question is: Should I say "yes" to Nintendo and Brand About Town and let them host a party for me and 25 of my girlfriends? But that one's a no-brainer. Um, YES PLEASE.

What to wear, on the other hand, requires a little more thought. I knew I had to wear something pink, of course, and probably something that matched my recently-purchased pink flower headband from Banana Republic, but my closet isn't exactly full of pink party attire (surprise, I know). Michelle's closet, on the other hand, had several pink party options including a perfect pink ballerina skirt.

So, this is what I wore:

The "what to wear" dilemma started in January when the lovely Justine sent me an email asking if I would like to be a Nintendo Brand Enthusiast. She then flew up to Sacramento, rented a car, and drove to Davis just to have coffee and chat. I KNOW! Amazing, right? I returned to school after meeting with Justine, reporting to all my friends that OMG! NINTENDO SO JUST BOUGHT ME A LATTE!

That latte was just the beginning. A couple of weeks later a Girlfriend's Guide to Gaming Party date was set.

Even though I got to be the official hostess of the party, I had only two responsibilities which were:

1. Send out invitations
2. Show up

This is precisely the perfect formula for party hostessing. That is, of course, assuming that the people actually throwing the party have good taste and buy enough alcohol. Which, in this case, they do and they did.

The party was held in a fabulous loft space in San Francisco. And there was parking--free and unrestricted parking--which, if you have been to San Francisco, you will understand the gloriousness of a parking spot that does not cost $23 or result in your car being towed. Not knowing in advance about the wonderfully free and unrestricted parking, my sister and I arrived 30 minutes early to the party. This allowed me to spend a good 15 minutes standing in the street debating between heels and flats (flats won in the end because my sister concluded that they were more ballerina-y).

Soon, my girlfriends were arriving, greeted by a chalkboard welcome sign.

And then? We partied. Nintendo-style.

The itinerary for the evening included (a) drinking champagne and wine, (b) eating delicious food, (c) mingling, and, of course, (d) gaming. My gal pals and I played Brain Age 2, Crosswords, Guitar Hero, and Mario Kart, collecting charms for our new Nintendo bracelets at each game station. My sister and I were both mind-bogglingly good at Mario Kart, a real shocker since we are both not-so-good drivers in real-life.

Many of my friends loved Brain Age and Crosswords (of course they did, they are law students after all). I met some friends for the first time in "real life"--including the fabulous Sarah who I have been Internet friends with since 2006.

About halfway through the party, Michelle discovered Guitar Hero and we barely got her to join the group photo an hour later, she was still so immersed in the game.

Furthermore, there was an endless supply of Jelly Belly beans, toffee bars, and marzipan cookies. My only regret about this whole endeavor is that I only ate half of a marzipan cookie and, let me tell you, I have been thinking about that delicious cookie all weekend and wishing that I would have eaten at least two more and perhaps slipped one into my purse for later. Can somebody from Nintendo please send word about the cookies; where would one purchase the cookies if one needed a dozen or so?

And then! As the party was ending, the gorgeous Nintendo Girlfriends distributed party favors--DS Lites and Brain Age 2--to all my guests. Let's just take a moment and RECAP THAT: after throwing an amazing party, in a loft in San Francisco, complete with champagne and all the Jelly Belly beans you could eat, Nintendo gave each of my girlfriends their very own shiny game system.

More photos are here. A great big thank you to Nintendo, Brand About Town, and Justine for throwing us such a fabulous soiree. For a girl who was completely thrilled over getting a $3 latte from Nintendo, this was just completely over the top.

Comments

I wish I could have been there...It looks like you had a lot of fun.

Posted by: Lauren | March 11, 2009 at 11:12 AM

Wow, that looks so fun! And your outfit is adorable.

It's nice to see another Janet! :)

Posted by: Janet | March 11, 2009 at 11:25 AM

This makes me so excited for my party (on Saturday!)

P.S. Your headband is adorable!

Posted by: Jenn | March 11, 2009 at 12:11 PM

Mine is this weekend! Seeing this makes me SO much more excited.

Posted by: Jamie | March 11, 2009 at 12:12 PM

I just have too much to say, Janet! Again, thank you so much for the invite. The party was lovely + I concur w/all of your assessments: they did provide sufficient alcohol!, the food was quite yum, jelly bellies + champagne = crazy delicious, and it was just too much fun earning all those charms! The evening was totally over the top. But, I especially enjoyed meeting you; you are precisely as I imagined. Simply adorable.

BUT! How did I ever miss the marzipan cookies?!!! My nose is usually so keen at detecting all things almond. Curses!

Posted by: Sarah | March 11, 2009 at 12:32 PM

I am so sad for my pregnant self that I am going to eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's and force my husband to play Wii. I hate missing a fabulous party-- and I hate missing a chance to see my dear friend Janet even more...it looks like it was fun. I can't think of anyone more deserving...

Posted by: Jen | March 11, 2009 at 02:54 PM