You're Having A Party!
Fall - a fantastic season with the Holiday Party Season just
nipping at its heels! What makes a good party and how do
hosts/hostesses get through the anxiety, worry, and how do they
take care of all those details and bring it all to a successful
conclusion? A few tips for some really great parties. As a
caterer, there are many tips, tricks, and so-called survival
techniques. Here are a few: The first thing you do when you
would like to have a party is decide on the occasion or theme-is
it an anniversary, a birthday, a Halloween costume party, or an
After Raking the Leaves get-together for family and neighbors?
Then decide on how many guests to invite. This will greatly
affect your table arrangements, menu, etc. More importantly, you
must take into account the space you have available to
comfortably entertain (even small spaces can be used
effectively,), and your budget. With regard to theme, once that
is chosen your menu becomes easier. The food should directly
relate to the event. A Trimming the Tree party could have
fantastic cocoa beverages, while your Hawaiian Luau would make
this very inappropriate. A buffet is easier than a sit-down
dinner, but space becomes critical. If guests are asked to serve
themselves, then they must have somewhere to place their plates,
sit, converse, and enjoy themselves.
Invitations follow your initial planning. A printed invitation
is a more thoughtful way, then a mere telephone call. The
written version contains all the essential inforamtion, so there
are no mis-dates, time, or destination, especially if the party
will not be at your home. A simple schedule for you is next.
Write down all the details - the decorations, menu, and
amenities. This insures that the "non" immediates are handled in
advance and the "immediates" such as fresh flowers, fresh
produce, etc. are all last-minute items. Do as much as you
comfortably can ahead of time. Make-ahead foods are great and
give you a lot more time on the last minute food items. Use
foods you are comfortable with, but with a twist. In other
words, an event is not a good time to try a new, never-used
recipe. It will only add to the anxiety and stress. Also
consider food garnishments and touches. Use food to decorate
food! If artificial items are used, they will need to be removed
by your guests.
Also, have and utilize a party log. In other words, write down
your exact party plans, the guest list, menu, etc. in a
notebook. Write down what went very well and what didn't. Which
guest did not interact very well with others, etc. This will
give you valuable insight into future parties. Also this allows
you to invite guests that are compatible so that no one is
uncomfortable. Also you avoid duplicating menu plans,
decorations, etc. When the day of the party arrives, stay calm.
Use your schedule and cross out all items as they get done. Have
everything ready (except for hot-from-the-oven items) in place
and do a once-over about an hour before the guests begin to
arrive. Then dress-up, relax and make sure you enjoy the party
as much as you would like your guests to. Nothing is more tense
at an event, then a host/hostess that is jittery, upset, and
obviously stressed out. Visit and personally greet each and
every arrival and look after the extra details that mean so much
to your guests. Extra towels, napkins, temperature adjustments
for too warm or too cold, name cards on the table (double-faced
for comfortable conversations), and easily handled food. If
accidents occur, such as spilled beverages or dropped food,
discreetly do immediate clean-up, but save the real clean-up for
after the guests leave. This will save embarrassment and
frustration on the perpetrator. Your reputation will soar as a
successful host/hostess with just a few of these tips. ENJOY!