In this issue:
- Next Sunday, Dec. 31 – All Singles New Year’s Eve Party at Allgauer’s on the Riverfront in Northbrook
- Check Out the Latest Singles Travel Options at ChiSinglesTravel.com
- “Do You Long for an ‘It’s-a-Wonderful-Life’ Kind of Life Today?”

Hope You Can Make It to Allgauer’s on the Riverfront Next Sunday Night!

I am glad you are reading this because the biggest and certainly the most elegant (but not at all stuffy) party of the year is coming up next Sunday. The “All Singles New Year’s Eve” at Allgauer’s is filling up fast. It is by far THE best party for single professionals in the Chicago area, and consistently sells out.

Your special evening begins with a cocktail party (cash bar) in the Garden Atrium. This is followed by a full 4-course dinner, with wine included, in the ballroom. You have your choice of Alaskan Salmon, Prime Rib or Roast Duck for your entree. Then, after dinner, you’ll dance to one of the finest DJs in the area until 1:00 a.m. To help ring in the New Year, a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight and party favors are also included.

This party is open to all singles 30s through 50s, regardless of past participation.
The Social Network will be joining us for this special event. Your entire evening is $99 for members and $109 for guests. This party is dressy, with black tie optional.

Signups are progressing very rapidly for this event. I have been able to get an extension from Allgauer’s for our counts for the party. They are due by first thing Thursday morning, December 27. In order to be assured of the entree you wish, please book before then. If you want a “special rate” hotel room in the Hilton, you must book it with them by this Friday, December 22. Again, this party has sold out 2 of the last 3 years. Don’t be left out.

Sign up right now this memorable evening at www.gourmetadvocates.com/singlepage.html

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Here Are the Details for the Fabulous All Singles New Year’s Eve
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When? – Next Sunday, December 31, 7:30 p.m. – 1 a.m.

What? – “All Singles New Year’s Eve Celebration” Dinner Dance Where?-

Allgauer’s on the Riverfront

at the Hilton Hotel – Northbrook 2855 N. Milwaukee Ave. (N. of Lake St.; S. of Palatine/Willow Road) in Northbrook

The elegant Fifth Annual “All Singles New Year’s Eve Party” is at beautiful Allgauer’s on the Riverfront. It begins with a get-acquainted cocktail party (cash bar) in the Garden Atrium. Mix and mingle with an expected crowd of 100-120 other single professionals. At 8:30, your party moves to the adjoining ballroom for a deluxe dinner featuring your choice of:
- Slow-roasted Prime Rib with a Horseradish Cream Sauce on the Side
- Grilled Alaskan Salmon with a Light White Wine and Herb Sauce
- Roasted Half Duck with Ligonberry Jam and Glaze
Red and/or White Wine are included to complement your entrée. All dinners also feature a Double-baked Potato and Green Beans with Red Peppers, Soup, a special Spinach Salad and Kahlua Praline Cheesecake for dessert, plus coffee or tea.
After dinner, there will again be a cash bar and you’ll dance to one of the best DJs in the Chicago area until 1:00 a.m. A complimentary Champagne Toast at midnight and Party Favors add a festive touch.

Your entire evening, with many of Chicago’s most eligible singles, consisting of a cocktail party (cash bar), sumptuous 4-course dinner (with wine), 3 hours of dancing to a DJ and Champagne toast and party favors is $99 for members and $109 for non-members and guests. Dressy attire/black tie optional. This party has sold out two of the last three years, so register right now to make sure you get a spot!

Register online with your charge card at
www.gourmetadvocates.com/singlepage.html .
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**Best Singles Holidays for ‘07**

The elegant Fifth Annual “All Singles New Year’s Eve Party” is at beautiful . It begins with a get-acquainted cocktail party (cash bar) in the Garden Atrium. Mix and mingle with an expected crowd of 100-120 other single professionals. At 8:30, your party moves to the adjoining ballroom for a deluxe dinner featuring your choice of:- Slow-roasted Prime Rib with a Horseradish Cream Sauce on the Side- Grilled Alaskan Salmon with a Light White Wine and Herb Sauce- Roasted Half Duck with Ligonberry Jam and GlazeRed and/or White Wine are included to complement your entrée. All dinners also feature a Double-baked Potato and Green Beans with Red Peppers, Soup, a special Spinach Salad and Kahlua Praline Cheesecake for dessert, plus coffee or tea.After dinner, there will again be a cash bar and you’ll dance to one of the best DJs in the Chicago area until 1:00 a.m. A complimentary Champagne Toast at midnight and Party Favors add a festive touch. Your entire evening, with many of Chicago’s most eligible singles, consisting of a cocktail party (cash bar), sumptuous 4-course dinner (with wine), 3 hours of dancing to a DJ and Champagne toast and party favors is $99 for members and $109 for non-members and guests. Dressy attire/black tie optional. This party has sold out two of the last three years, so register right now to make sure you get a spot! Register online with your charge card at .====================We are making a listing… and it includes some of the best getaway travel ideas for singles. So if you have a few days to a week off and you want to meet and get to know other singles, travel to exotic places or pursue your favorite sport, then the new site www.ChiSinglesTravel.com is for you. Check it out for complete trip descriptions, daily itineraries, pricing and great pictures. Here’s the latest lineup:

Cruises:
Sports Cruise 2/11 – A unique week of sailing and sports.
3-Day Mini Cruise 3/2 – When less is more.

Singles Ski:
Jackson Hole, Wyoming 1/21 – The American classic
Winter Park, Colorado 2/11 – Colorado’s best kept secret
Big Sky, Montana 3/11 – It just doesn’t get bigger

Multi-Sport Trips:
Club Med Cancun 1/20 – Great amenities and singles
Ecuador Explorer 2/3 – A complete cultural, multi-sport gourmet week
Patagonia Hiking 3/3 – Once in a lifetime!

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*Membership* – If you are not already a Gourmet Advocates member, we encourage you to join now so you can continue to participate. Non-members can attend one event to “check us out.” Right now, for $79 a year, you can take part in all the fun events and take advantage of the many benefits our club offers. Become a member at http://www.gourmetadvocates.com/Membership.htm
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Singles Notebook – “Get-Real” Thoughts and Opinions from Jim “Senny” Senhauser

“Do You Long for an ‘It’s-a-Wonderful-Life’ Kind of Life Today?”

Like many of you, for me Christmas was always my favorite time of the year when I was growing up. As it approaches this year, I fondly recall the memories of the fun of growing up with warm family times and counting the days until Santa Claus would arrive. There was also all the food and presents, going to midnight church services, singing carols and feeling good about everybody and everything, even if all was not perfect the rest of the year. It was also a time for charity, thinking about those less fortunate than we were.

As I look back, I am glad that my Santa did not over-indulge me with too many toys and presents each year. Never did he bring me everything I asked for, even though my list was quite modest by today’s standards. It helped me appreciate what I had.

Other favorite remembrances of the season surround how my brother and I helped my mom bake cookies and make homemade peanut brittle for gifts to share with our family and guests.

With this view of the holiday in mind, it is no wonder that Frank Capra’s 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” became one of my favorite movies of all time. Each year, I look forward to seeing it and once again experiencing that special feeling that comes from relating to the characters, however idealistic they are.

First it has a good-hearted, handsome dreamer in George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart), who doesn’t have much, but shares everything he can. And there’s Mary Bailey (Donna Reed), who is every guy’s dream of a wonderful wife and mother. She is very attractive, has a heart as giving as her husband’s, is fun to be around, is playful, loving and dedicated and will still challenge George when he does wrong. And we all know a few bumbling Uncle Billys (Thomas Mitchell) and (unfortunately) some greedy and ruthless Mr. Potters (Lionel Barrymore).

Each time I see “It’s a Wonderful Life,” it is hard not to long for the same kind of romantic illusion-filled Christmas today. While the situation the Bailey’s were in was probably even unrealistic in 1946, it almost seems like it was hundreds of years removed from 2006. Yet, it is hard not to sometimes nostalgically long for the simpler, less commercial and more honest times depicted in this classic movie.

Face it — don’t you often long for a few endearing (even stereotypically so) characters among your family and friends? Wouldn’t it be nicer still to have lots of good friends who would bail you out from the treachery of the Mr. Potter’s in your life? And wouldn’t it give you a good feeling to know that your friends and family could count on you when they were in trouble?

Sadly, much of this sense of community and sharing the burden has dissipated markedly over the years. The thought that we are somehow “all in this together” has been replaced by more of an “I’ll get mine, but it’s up to you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps” approach. While this certainly applies to many of today’s married couples and families, it probably is even more prevalent among never-married, divorced and even widowed singles. In an increasingly mobile society, we have become more competitive, much less collaborative and even less civil with each other. As a result, our sense of “connectedness” has very shallow roots.

That is where singles clubs and organizations like ours can help. Our relational and inclusive approach to meeting and getting to know other singles over time creates a more connected network of all types of relationships, from friends and acquaintances to romantic relationships. This is a true “social networking” process.

Contrast this with the transactional “hunt and sort” approaches, like Internet dating or speed dating. It is clear that these approaches leave few residual benefits if the romance with the targeted single fails to work out. Transactional approaches don’t result in any kind of support network. Singles clubs, on the other hand, often can create a network of long-term friends that can even become an extended family. In fact, members “singleness” and their willingness “to put themselves out there” are a couple of characteristics members have in common that bind them together.

So maybe the result of your extended family of single friends isn’t quite like the Baileys in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Still, in this day and age, any steps that you and I can take to become more connected with each other should be welcomed and not taken lightly. Then, in Christmases to come, perhaps we will both look back nostalgically and see these days as the start of a beautiful friendship or relationship.

Here’s to becoming more connected and willing to reach out to help other singles!

P.S. The Gourmet Advocates are closing in on the end of our fourth year of operation. I want to thank you all, my friends of many years and those that I have just met over the past few months, for being so supportive of this organization and of me and my efforts throughout this year. I may set up the events, but it is you who participate and make the parties and this club successful. Thank you all for your understanding and kindness, your patience, your enthusiasm, your laughter and your suggestions for our improvement and yes, even at times, your love. I certainly love some of you, appreciate and respect all of you, and will always be your friend and the biggest supporter and fan of your efforts. Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a Wonderful, Fun and Fulfilling New Year!

Jim Senhauser’s “Singles Notebook” column (used with permission) is ©2004, 2005, 2006 IdeaTree, Ltd., Chicago, IL 60613. “IdeaTree” is a registered trademark of IdeaTree, Ltd.