The bride-to-be splurges on a pre-wedding party, taking nine guests to a spa so exclusive that it will exist for only five hours–in her Redondo Beach home. Another woman throws a “girls’ night in” for her three best friends with flickering candles and fluffy white robes in her Los Angeles den. Massages, pedicures and intense female bonding are included.
As spa-going has become more mainstream, in-home spa parties have become one of the nation’s newest entertaining trends. The development has been aided by the growth over the last two years of mobile spas and the legacy of a television show that aired its last original episode a year ago.
“Since the popularity of Carrie and the girls from ‘Sex and the City,’ there’s been a movement for women to spend more time with girlfriends,” said Anastacia Stathakis of Westin Rinehart, a Washington, D.C., public affairs and marketing firm. “Home-spa parties offer a chance to feel like the gang from New York. Just as some people throw a bridal shower at a vineyard, a spa theme is a fun way to feel glamorous with your girlfriends.”
Alexis Ufland, founder of a 2-year-old on-location spa service called Sparty (www.spa-party.com), said the spa experience doesn’t “have to be just about Zen and drinking green tea. They are a way to socialize and have fun. You can drink Cosmos and have a manicure with your friends while your favorite music is playing.” Her New York City-based business has expanded to serve 11 cities, including Chicago.
Lisa Foster Maddox, the Redondo Beach bride, spent $2,000 on her home-spa party in June, which included meditation sessions, yoga classes, facials and massages, with take-home yoga mats and robes for her guests.
“I’ve never been to a spa that was as personal or fun as this was,” Maddox said. “I was really stressed arranging my wedding, but I felt completely relaxed at my party.”
In this “all about me” era, a home spa set up can show off the host’s taste, instead of preferences from a business package. In addition, the parties reinforce another mantra of our times: There’s no place like home.
“Women love to share things they adore, and people nowadays do much of their entertaining and partying at home. Being a homebody is the next frontier of hip,” said Carolyn Brundage, founder of prettycity.com, a Chicago-based online company that explores beauty trends.
“Your home is a haven, a place to retreat, and when everyone has been properly primped and pampered, you can turn on ‘Sex and the City’ or ‘Desperate Housewives’ and relax with your friends,” she said. “No need to get dressed, risk smudging your polish or put makeup on after a facial.”
Spa parties typically cost about $95 to $150 per person, which includes the basic setup–candles, music, massage tables, manicure stations–and one or two short treatments or massages for each guest. It may sound pricey, but frequent spa-goers might consider it cheap compared to a resort, destination or day spa, where a single manicure can cost $65 and a massage is twice that.
Hosting an at-home party also offers a built-in spalike benefit. It eliminates the stress of driving home afterward.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
