EHD (One Day) Retreat + The Ornaments We Picked Out For Eachother

Last week Gretchen and I flew down to LA to visit the LA EHD team (after my family celebrated Charlie’s 10th birthday at Universal Studios). In a perfect world, we wouldn’t be so long distance but we are making it work as long as we try to see each other every few months (and now that Mal will be in New York we’ll be heading there in spring for our next retreat!). We went over to Jess’ (which is looking SO CUTE) and chatted for a few hours about strategy, scheduling and, definitely caught up a lot. We then went to lunch at a new spot called Highly Likely and cruised around Highland Park for a bit until 4 pm when we split up to have a break before dinner. 

4 out of the 5 of us got BLTAs (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado because it’s California:)) and obviously, we needed some lunch wine.

Around 7 pm we met up for dinner and did our ornament exchange which was SO MUCH FUN. We ate at Bacari in Silver Lake which is a really pretty and delicious restaurant with a big tree in the large outside patio. What I didn’t know was that my kids (who left that morning back to Portland) had the flu and it was inside me, waiting to burst out which it did around midnight that night. So sadly we weren’t able to meet up the next day (I had already given it to Jess) and I was DOWN FOR THE COUNT. I haven’t had the flu in years and now I know why people talk about it so much (and get vaccinated). But the highlight of the trip was our ornament exchange which was strangely SO much fun. 

The whole ornament exchange was my idea (shocking) and I love that it was a low lift for everyone (ornaments can be cheap and you could DIY) and yet still personal. And the expectation is low – no one would feel like they were getting someone something that was better or worse than someone else – they are all just ornaments. So we figured we’d show you what we made/bought for each other. And listen, this isn’t for every company – we are small and know each other really really well. Now would it be weird for Dale from Accounting to buy you an ornament if you never had a conversation with them? Maybe! Or maybe it’s the perfect office gift for anyone and everyone (that is IF they celebrate Christmas). 

I, of course, was racked with indecision because I want this ornament to say A LOT about them and me and my feelings for them in 2023. So I went to like 4 different stores to come up with what I got below. Enjoy!

NOTE FROM GRETCHEN ABOUT HER UNREAL HANDMADE ORNAMENTS: Since it’s my first year on the EHD team, I wanted to go big and gift the team ornaments that were oddly specific (definitely dorky) and most importantly, it gave me an excuse to use glitter pens. Duh. So I opted to make everyone an ornament that’d ideally capture their work essence. Each ornament started with these ready-made wood cutouts. I glued two together because they came like 60 to a pack, plus I thought it’d make them feel a little more substantial. Then I designed one side to look like an opening image from this year’s collection of gift guides. (Surprise! That’s me drawing holiday hats on every child, boomer, and Brian imaginable. The EHD team simply can’t escape my Apple Pencil!) The “gift guide” side of the ornament sort of declares each person’s theme, and the opposite side drives home the point:)

Caitlin’s (Genuis) Ornament For Everyone

Anthropologie Mirror for everyone: True to Libra form, I picked the same ornament for everyone – it’s a miniature version of the iconic Anthropologie mirror! We’ve been so fortunate to partner with Anthro SO many times this year (including on a campaign for this very mirror – it’s been a dream!) and none of those projects would have come to fruition without the dedication of every lovely gal on this team. I hope that Em, Jess, Gretch, and Mal all remember both the hard work and the joy we’ve experienced together at EHD when they pull these out every year:)

Ornaments For Emily

Starburst Ornament from Jess: The local shop that I went to had these amazing vintage Starburst ornaments that I couldn’t resist. It was fun, playful, and in two of Emily’s favorite colors. I knew it would look perfect on her tree:)

Handmade Fabric Scraps Ornament from Mallory: If you’ve been following the farmhouse design progress for a while you know about Emily’s obsession with pretty Japanese Boro Fabric – it’s that vintage patchwork plaid and it usually comes in a variation of indigos. Well, we have a running joke about one of the comments about how Emily loves to play with her “ratty fabric” so when I was brainstorming which ornament to get Emily I figured why not attempt to make a ratty fabric ornament?? So that’s exactly what I did:)

Handmade Ornaments from Gretchen: The head honcho herself, our visionary, and the incredible woman who happens to sign my paycheck, Emily Henderson! I promise I’m not ass-kissing (now) when I say that working for Em is the most fun job I’ve had, probably ever. For me, this year truly has been one to remEmber so I wanted to make her something that really highlighted that! The opposite side of Em’s ornament has a collage of almost all of the spaces in the farmhouse we’ve revealed in 2023. To be honest, I should’ve made Em like 15 additional ornaments to remember the multitude of projects we’ve worked on this year–I started to list them here but there’s just too many. This selection of 9 felt a little more manageable! I printed everything out, Mod Podged each of them to the wooden pieces front and back, covered that sh*t in glitter, then looked on with nerdy glee, as each person opened theirs up. Was it all worth it? No. Next year I’m buying them from Hobby Lobby. Kidding. This is my bread and butter.

Ornaments For Jess

Spaceship Ornament from Emily: I owe her 6 years of back ornaments, but for 2023 I was so excited to find this one because I wanted something to represent our first product LAUNCH that Jess co-designed with me. It really has helped our business “take off” (LOL) and just felt so fun, special, and appropriate for 2023. Yay to future collaborations and more cheesy ornaments to celebrate:)

Power Drill from Mallory: Jess is one of those fearless DIY girlies and her creativity knows no bounds. From the banquette she DIY’d last year to the bench she DIY’d this year…this girl knows her way around a power drill (and we can’t forget that her amazing dad Les is probably the reason why). But also in a less literal sense, Jess is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known, so I wanted to get her this to commemorate the amazing DIYs she’s completed, but also to acknowledge how she’s the real powerhouse of this team:)

Handmade Ornaments from Gretchen: Jess 4 Prez on one side and a close-up of the Rowena rug on the other, in honor of all the work she did with Em to launch her Rugs USA line (get it?) and because I’d vote for her in the next election. 

Ornaments For Caitlin

Slot Machine Ornament from Emily: With Caitlin (as with all my team members) I really won the lottery and feel so lucky to have her. Her expertise and passion is all about the numbers and she loves to talk analytics and data. She’ll tell us what is performing well and figure out why. So this lotto machine felt really appropriate for her and my appreciation for her:) CHA-CHING!!

Starburst Ornament from Jess: OK I know it’s the same as Em’s but it was too pretty, vintage, AND the colors were prefect for her. I regret nothing:)

CBD Gummy Ornament From Mallory: HA I didn’t think I would have to write about this on the blog but here we are lol. This was the first ornament I found…I stumbled upon this cute bookstore on the Sunset Strip and saw this and immediately knew Caitlin needed it. Look it’s no secret that Caitlin loves a CBD gummy (both for fun and chronic back pain!) so I thought this ornament was a hilarious one to give her. Caitlin, I love you and I can’t stop laughing that I just had to write a blurb explaining why I got you a CBD gummy ornament for Christmas on this blog!

Handmade Ornament from Gretchen: Caitlin is our Commission Queen, managing partnerships like a bo$$, so the backside pattern references her main domain, in Christmas colors of course!

Ornaments For Mallory

Suitcase Ornament from Emily: Mal is taking off this year to New York for quite the journey. As you know I lived in NYC all through my 20s and it was just such a formative time to be in the best city in the world. So this was for her journey, but also to represent how she’s already traveled so far in her career at EHD. It’s a real Bon Voyage moment for us and I have nothing but hope and well wishes for this new city for her. 

NYC Coffee Cup Ornament from Jess: Since our sweet Mal is headed to the Big Apple, when I saw this ornament I knew I had to get it to mark this exciting occasion! Plus it’s handpainted and so cute:)

Handmade Ornament from Gretchen: Mal-A-Million made a very viral video this year, and the back of her ornament displays a screenshot from it–a close-up of Em’s perfectly festive plaid shirt.

Ornaments For Gretchen

Glass Ball Ornament from Emily: Gretch is new to the team and I thought about so many ornaments for her (1st anniversary? Baby’s first Christmas? And even a firefighter ornament because she has saved my life, LOL). But when I found this one it felt appropriate because her artistic instinct is so well-honed and her use of color is soooo much better than mine is. She has taught me a lot about undertones and has such an eye that I’ve come to rely on. So this ornament felt really really painterly, artistic, and beautiful like Gretch (and I know she loves these earthier colors). 

Mushroom Ornament from Jess: Our Gretch is a gal about the indoors and great outdoors so this sweet little mushroom that clamps onto a branch was the perfect match in my head. It’s as sparkly and magical as she is;)

Boat Ornament from Mallory: The first time we really got to hang with our sweet Gretchen was a real epic day. The LA team came up to Portland for a retreat over the summer and Em booked us a Pontoon boat down the river. Well, we got the most EPIC tour guide (shoutout to Shane), consumed a large amount of wine, and immediately clicked as if we’d known each other our whole lives. The rest is history but I wanted to give Gretch an ornament of the place where it all began :’)

Emily again! So like I said, our retreat was cut short by the flu but Mal and Gretch hit Hollywood for night two! I’m so happy Gretchen got to have a little more fun so thanks Mal for showing her the way:)

I’m so grateful for these ladies and can’t wait for next year’s ornaments. 10/10 recommend!