Hosting  a Cocktail Party?

Here are some steps to help guide you!

Want to throw a cocktail party, but have no idea where to even begin? Well this will show you step by step information on what you need to throw an elegant successful cocktail party all on your own! Cocktail parties are a great way to entertain because they accommodate any kind of guest list, from a casual get together with friends to a formal business gathering.

1. The normal time frame for a cocktail party is about two to three hours and they are usually held between 6 to 10pm. This makes it easier to plan a cocktail party on any night of the week because usually everyone is out of work by that time.
2. Buy more ice then you think you will need just to be on the safe side. You should have about 1 lb per guest.  This ice is needed for keeping cans cool and chilling the drinks.
3. You should also have many different glass sizes and styles at your cocktail party.  This provides variety and makes it more interesting. You have to go out in style.  You should have twice as many glasses as you do guests because not everyone will drink the same thing twice.
4. For the wine drinkers you should have 1 bottle for every two people, for the beer drinkers you should have one six pack for every two people, and then get one or two liquors that can make a bunch of different cocktails. Then of course you have your mixers, you can’t forget those! Examples of some mixers are orange juice, soda, ginger ale, cranberry juice, and seltzer.  Also have lemons, limes and olives on hand.
5. As far as the menu goes you should have a variety of different foods to accommodate everyone present at your party. For instance, meat, vegetarian, hot, cold, spicy, and sweet.  I know many caterers average about 5 pieces per person so take that into consideration when planning how much to buy, depending on the amount of guests attending.
6. At the end of the night it’s always nice to offer coffee or tea to your guests before they get ready to leave.  It’s a nice way to wind down the night.

I hope these steps help for you to have a successful cocktail party on your own! Enjoy and happy planning!

-Alyssa

This entry was posted on Monday, March 7th, 2011 at 11:47 am and is filed under Event Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.