Party central: Big bash? A few tips
By Casey Gillis on Dec. 27, 2007
By Casey Gillis, The Burg
/ 385-5525
When it comes to organizing any kind of gathering, two experts who penned a party planning book urge you to keep one thing in mind.
“Have fun,” says Deandra “Brooksie” Brooks, co-author of “The Recovering Sorority Girls’ Guide to A Year’s Worth of Perfect Parties.”
“Far too often, people get so caught up in planning … they don’t enjoy their own party, and I think that is the biggest party foul you can make.”
Don’t let stress get the better of you, she says, and keep in mind that the people who will be there are your friends.
“Your guests are coming to mingle and hang out. Nobody’s going to be inspecting the floors,” Brooks says. “Let go of the hang ups that everything has to be perfect.”
To help you plan a fun, memorable New Year’s Eve bash, we here at The Burg mined a variety of sources for tips. We found that a successful party has three main components: a solid theme, plenty of games and activities to keep guests occupied and a good selection of food and drinks. Read on for more.
Theme
Coming up with a clever theme for your party gives you direction, Brooks and co-author Kristina “Morgan” Rose say.
“It’s part of what creates a special event, and it gives people something to look forward to,” Rose says. “It gives your party definition.”
It also gives you something to plan your menu and decorations around.
In their book, Brooks and Rose suggest throwing a martini-tasting soiree, which requires each guest to bring his or her favorite martini recipe (see some suggestions later on).
“It creates a wonderful, pre-party buzz and a level of competition,” says Brooks. “It helped build up the party, and it was in a different way than you (normally) build up New Year’s.”
A martini party also provides a stocked bar without breaking your budget, Brooks and Rose say. The host should provide the gin and vodka, but the guests should bring their favorite recipes and the ingredients those recipes require.
When Morgan threw a martini=tasting party, she even hand-painted personalized coasters for each guest at a paint-your-own pottery joint.
If a martini tasting party isn’t your style, here are some other themes we came across in our research:
-- Casino Royale, a night of casino games like poker and Blackjack. All you really need are several decks of playing cards and — unless your pals are all high-rollers — fake money for your guests to
bet with. If your budget allows for it, make personalized cash with your face on it for a little added amusement. If you want to take the party to the next level, look into renting other casino games, like craps and a roulette table.
-- Mardi Gras because it just seems to go hand-in-hand with New Year’s. Party411.com suggests decorating with purple, gold and green, the traditional colors of Mardi Gras. Party favors can include colorful masks, beads, feather boas and noisemakers. As for the menu, look up some New Orleans-style recipes to add to the party’s flavor.
-- New Year’s Eve Pajama Party. This one makes perfect sense because it automatically eliminates the worry about guests driving home after a night of drinking. iVillage.com recommends starting the party around 9 p.m., so guests have time for an early dinner before arriving. Design the menu around desserts, like cookies, fruit tarts, truffles and lemon bars. Also provide sweet, sparkling wines, which pair up nicely with desserts, as well as regular and decaf coffee. The Web site suggests creating a bedtime gift bag with soap, a toothbrush, mini-toothpaste, slippers and an eye mask. Also stock up on easy, light breakfast fare, like eggs, toast, pastries and coffee, for the morning after.
-- Midnight Breakfast Feast. This one also came from iVillage.com, which recommends it as an alternative to throwing a big bash. It’s helpful on a couple different fronts. First, you can skip all of that stressful party planning and save money by not buying booze. Second, if you serve up breakfast at night, you won’t be obligated to the next day. The idea of a New Year’s brunch sounds peachy, but will you really be in the mood to cook after partying all night? But, if you are, more power to ya.
For this party, just arrange for your guests to arrive sometime after midnight, and set a firm end time. Prepare recipes that can be made in advance, like breakfast casseroles, silver-dollar pancakes and sausage. Make sure plenty of strong coffee and juice is on hand, and set everything up buffet-style. Create comfy sitting areas with floor pillows.
-- Eliminate the fretting about who you’re going to smooch at midnight by inviting a few of your closest gal pals over for a Girlfriends’ Spa Night. To get that spa feeling, iVillage.com says to set up different stations around your home. Two that should definitely be included are a facial table – complete with home dermabrasion kits, masks and moisturizers – and a mani-pedi station. For the latter, you’ll need several varieties of nail polish, cotton balls, nail polish remover, filers, clippers, foot cream and a few soaking tubs. After the pampering is done, have each guest write a letter to herself, outlining the good things she wants for herself by the end of 2008. Have her seal it in an envelope and address it. Put the letters away and promise to mail them to each guest at the end of next year.
Games and activities
New Year’s Eve is usually a time to reflect on the past year and outline some plans for the new one. The following are some games and activities that will allow your guests to do that:
-- In “The Recovering Sorority Girls’ Guide to a Year’s Worth of Perfect Parties,” Brooks and Rose suggest setting up a Resolution Board. Take a piece of poster board and hang it in a prominent spot at the party’s location. As guests arrive, give them a marker to write their New Year’s resolution on the board, and have them sign their names to it.
“Not only does it bring some reflection, it also gives guests who don’t know each other an excuse to talk,” Brooks says.
-- Party411.com suggests Charades of the Past, which sounds like a blast. Before the party, go through magazines and newspapers to pick out events from the past year, and use those events as “titles” to act out in charades or to draw, a la “Win, Lose Or Draw.”
Some suggestions from The Burg: Any of pop starlet Britney Spears’ antics (head shaving or her unfortunate VMA performance); high-profile celebrity break-ups (Justin and Cameron, Linda and Hulk Hogan) and weddings; celeb baby names (Suri Cruise, Violet Affleck, Kingston Rossdale); and song, TV series and movie titles.
-- Similar research can also contribute to another game, Guess the Month. Party411.com says to make a list of events that have taken place over the past year, and have your guests guess which month the event took place. For example, “What month did Miss Spears make headlines for shaving her head?” (That would be February, just in case you were wondering).
-- Real Simple magazine has also created a New Year’s-related card game. Each card, which can be printed from the mag’s Web site (http://www.realsimple.com/gamecards), has fill-in-the-blank statements, like “The person I want to be more like this year is ___,” “The good deed I want to do this year is ___,” and “The bad habit I want to kick this year is ___.” Have guests fill in the blanks, gather them and read them out randomly. Then let everyone try to guess who wrote what.
Recipes
Brooks and Morgan say to keep the menu simple.
“Do only what you feel comfortable doing,” says Morgan.
If you decide to go with the martini theme, you might want to try a chocolate martini (ingredients: 2 ounces vodka and ½ ounce crème de cacao; directions: pour into shaker filled with ice, shake and pour into a chilled glass); an espresso martini ( 1 ounce cold espresso, 1½ ounces vodka; 1½ ounces Kahlua, and 1 ounce white crème de cacao; pour into shaker filled with ice, shake vigorously and strain into a chilled glass); or your classic Cosmo martini (1/2 ounce orange liqueur, 1 ounce vodka, 1 splash cranberry juice and lime juice; pour into a glass half filled with ice, shake and strain into a chilled glass). (Source: http://www.Drinksmixer.com).
No matter the theme, here are a few yummy-sounding appetizers we found:
-- Tomato Pesto Puff Pastry Twists
Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to directions
¼ cup prepared sun-dried tomato pesto
¼ cup grated Parmesan
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Roll puff pastry into a 12 x 15 rectangle. Spread pesto evenly over pastry, to within ½ an inch of the edges. Fold the dough in half lengthwise. Roll the dough out again into the rectangle and sprinkle Parmesan over it. Cut the dough crosswise into ½-inch thick strips. Twist each strip into a corkscrew. Arrange on baking sheet and press down the ends to prevent unrolling. Bake for 10 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown. (Source: People Magazine’s Holiday Extra)
-- Chocolate Bruschetta
Ingredients:
10 1-ounce slices diagonally cut French bread (about ¼-inch thick)
cooking spray
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa), finely chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
grated orange rind (optional)
Directions:
Preheat broiler. Lightly coat the bread with cooking spray. Place bread on a baking sheet; broil 3 minutes on each side or until toasted. Remove bread form the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Sprinkle each bread slice with about 1½ tablespoons chocolate. Bake for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts. Sprinkle evenly with salt; garnish with orange rind, if desired. Serve warm. Yields about 10 servings. (Source: Cooking Light Magazine)
-- Herbed Parmesan Crisps
Ingredients:
1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary or thyme
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread 1 tablespoon piles of mixture with a couple inches between each. Spread them out into ovals about 4 inches long, 2 inches wide. Bake crisps in oven until they turn golden brown, which usually takes about 6 to 8 minutes. (Source: People Magazine’s Holiday Extra)
-- Bacon-Wrapped Breadsticks
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon
4 (7-inch) breadsticks
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions: Wrap 1 slice of bacon in a spiral fashion around each breadstick. Place on a double-thick layer of paper towels on a microwaveable plate. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Roll immediately in the Parmesan cheese until evenly coated. (Source: http://www.kraftfoods.com)
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