Twas the night of SMCLA’s holiday party and all through the house, cocktails were stirring, a cheery crowd was networking, the panel was rocking expert social media advice, donations poured in for LA Food Bank, and all was merry and bright!Our good friends at Cross Campus in Santa Monica (@CrossCampusLA) played host to SMCLA’s Dec. 17 “MEET THE FOODIES Holiday Party,” and it was the perfect setting for an evening of holiday fun, delicious gourmet treats, festive bubbly and tasty brews.A packed house heard savvy advice about using social media to reach foodies and connect communities around common interests from our fantastic panel of experts:Caroline Pardilla – blogger, “Caroline on Crack,” Los Angeles Magazine. @CarolineonCrackApryl Delancey – director of Marketing & Social Media, Blaze PR. @BlazePRTeamKajsa Alger – executive chef/co-owner, Mud Hen Tavern. @ChefKajsaBecky Slade Yoshitani – chief marketing officer for Hurry Curry of Tokyo. @HurryCurryTokyoElina Shatkin – senior editor, Los Angeles Magazine. @ElinaShatkinThree Cheers for SMCLA’s Sponsors for a Party to Remember!Comerica Bank was a generous sponsor of this year’s spectacular SMCLA “MEET THE FOODIES” party. Give them some love on Twitter at @ComericaCares.Food and beverage sponsors made this holiday bash extra-special, including:Free tastings of Vina Sympatica’s unique sparkling wines, hosted by creator Sherrijon Gaspart. @VinaSympaticaHurry Curry of Tokyo spiced up our taste buds with their scrumptious dishes. @hurrycurrytokyoBig Fat Pita offered a fabulous selection of pita tastes. @BigFatPitaThe nice folks at Pretzel Crisps laid out an amazing spread and even gave us take-home pretzel snacks. @PretzelCrispsLagunitas made sure there were brews for everyone. @lagunitasbruhwsAnd The Misfit Bar & Restaurant (@TheMisfitSaMo) and Mud Hen Tavern (@MudHenTavern) generously shared gift certificates for our raffle!Thanks to You We Tripled Our Food Drive Goal for LA Food Bank!Thank you for your generosity during our food drive for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. You shared 294 pounds of canned goods – three times the 100 pounds we’d hoped to raise! Read all about it on our blog.Loved Our Holiday Party? Consider the Benefits of SMCLA MembershipOne reason we encourage joining Social Media Club is that members get in FREE to SMCLA’s fantastic, insightful monthly events – and that includes the spectacular end-of-year holiday party! Want to learn more? Check out the Join SMCLA tab on our website.Thank you for a tremendous year - we wish you the very best this holiday season and look forward to more great events in 2014!