With my 40th fast approaching at the end of the year, I have been thinking of how I would like to celebrate. I have no firm ideas in mind just yet. I’m not one who likes a fuss, but it’s a special birthday, so marking it in some way feels appropriate. Over the next few months, I’ll be toying with various ideas (and then, will most likely ignore all of them in favour of a family meal). Today I am looking at how to host a cocktail party.
Christmas (or any other holiday, for that matter) is the perfect time to entertain friends and family. With basic planning, a fun and festive cocktail party is easy to put together.
If you want to entertain this holiday season, a cocktail party is a fun and easy way to get together with friends and family. With basic planning, hosting a party in your home can be simple, elegant, and stress-free. Just hide all the heirlooms away, and you’ll not stress over breakages once the party is in full swing.
How to host a cocktail party – choosing a theme
Choosing a theme for your party is an important step. If you centre your party around a theme, it narrows your focus and allows you to make quick and easy food choices. Often, one of the hardest parts of hosting a party is deciding on the menu. With these theme ideas and suggested food choices, purchasing and preparing food can be very simple:
- Wine and Cheese Tasting
Chose wine and cheese from several countries. Create simple but elegant platters including cheese, crackers, and meats from the countries you choose and place them around your party area. Chose both red and white wines and place them adjacent to the platters. Try adding signs welcoming your guests to each country and the names of the cheeses to add a special touch. - Tapas
This Spanish cuisine consists of small, individual dishes of food that can act as appetisers. There are a wide range of choices and examples of tapas dishes include empanadas, albundigas (meatballs), manchego cheese crostini and roasted almonds. Since this food is finger food, it is a great option for a cocktail party. Simply serve Spanish wines, sangria and other native spirits and you’re set. - Regional Cuisine
Selecting food from a specific country is a great way to keep choices easy. A great example is Japanese cuisine. With wonderful bite-sized foods like sushi, gyoza (dumplings) and tempura-battered vegetables there are delicious and varied choices. Cocktail choices range from plum wine and sake to drinks such as Sake Sunrise, Saketinis, Samurai Rock and Tamagozake.
These are just a few examples of how choosing a theme for your cocktail party adds a fun twist to the event but also helps to narrow the focus of your gathering to better plan the party.
Set the Mood for Your Cocktail Party
Pay attention to the little details that set the mood for your party.
- Music
Choose music that is soft and subtle – instrumentals, jazz and classical music work best, and remember not to play it too loudly as no one will be able to chat to each other - Lighting
Dim the lights and place candles where safe and appropriate. - Ambiance
Add small touches like fresh flowers, bowls of fruit and disposable hand towels in the bathrooms.
Hosting a Holiday cocktail party can be simple and elegant. With minimal planning, you can throw an event that your friends will talk about for years to come!
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