Tips for the cocktail party
Inviting some friends over for a cocktail party can be a great way to loosen up and enjoy time with people you haven’t seen in awhile. Whether you are having the cocktail party for a holiday, a business purpose or just for the fun of it, there are some tips that will keep your party running smooth. As the host or hostess, you’ll want to enjoy yourself, too.
Have Plenty of Supplies
Before you go shopping, consider how many people you’re inviting. Now triple that number. That’s going to be how much supplies you will need. If you’re expecting everyone to re-use their plastic tumbler or their snack plate, you will run out of supplies within the first hour of the party. You’ll need to have plenty of everything including:
- Drink cups (consider different sizes)
- Large plates
- Small plates
- Dinner napkins
- Cocktail napkins
As you’re setting up, make sure to have a couple garbage cans placed throughout the party area, too. This will allow your guests to help with the clean up process later on, even if they don’t know it.
Pre-Make Popular Drinks
The last thing you want to be doing during the party is making drinks for everyone. If your cocktail party is high-end, you may even want to consider hiring a bartender from a temp agency to fix all of the cocktails for your friends. Otherwise, pre-make some of the popular drinks and place them in pitchers for everyone.
- Margaritas
- Rum punch
- Martinis
These drinks work really well to be made in advance. A pitcher of margaritas on the rocks or martinis will make it easy for everyone to pour their own drink. In addition, you can get a punch bowl (any party store sells them) and fill it with a few fruit juices, ice, and either regular rum or any flavored variant (pineapple and coconut flavored will give your punch a nice Caribbean flavor).
Food, Food, Food
When you’re serving alcohol, you need to make sure you are offering plenty of food. People will inevitably expect you to have food when they hear cocktails. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. The kinds of food you have will depend on the style of the cocktail party but appetizers are fine. No one will expect to be fed dinner.
- Chips and Dip
- Chicken Wings
- Potato skins
- Shrimp cocktail
- Vegetable and cheese crudités
It doesn’t really matter what kind of food you put out. It can be hot or cold or a mixture of both. The primary reason you want to feed your guests at least something is to help take the focus off of drinking occasionally. When they eat food, too, they’ve got a chance of soaking up the alcohol so that they’re not leaving your party and then driving on a stomach full of vodka. A cocktail party can go as smoothly as ever as long as you plan ahead. If you plan to throw together a cocktail party at the last minute, make sure you at least have a checklist so that you have all of key points covered. If you don’t, your guests will notice and most likely feel a little uncomfortable as a result.