How to throw a party

Throwing a party for many people doesn’t have to be hard. It may even be very fun! Whether you are preparing a casual birthday party, a sophisticated Christmas dinner or even a wedding! The most important thing is to plan it all beforehand! We present you several essential tips to throw any kind of party.

First, the party’s planning

• Decide what kind of party works best for you and for your guests; it cab be a cocktail, a buffet, a formal dinner, an informal dinner, etc.
• Plan the menu.
• Make your shopping list.
• Make an inventory of everything you need to cook and serve: recipients, pans, bowls, plates, cutlery, napkins, glasses, etc.

Tips for the party

For an informal, quick and easy party, keep it all simple. Buy some snacks, cold meats, pickles, olives, cheese, bread, salty cookies, toasts, lettuce, tomato, rucula, carrot, fruit and sauces and prepare some salads and snacks.

For a cocktail party, the most important things are the drinks, so you must have a very varied bar, not only with alcoholic drinks, but also with non alcoholic drinks. Depending on the guests, you should have more than one bar, so that people won’t have to form lines. Make sure the Hors D’ouevres don’t end before time. The tables and the chairs should be sufficient enough, making sure there are chairs for, at least, half the guests. It is important that you promote the sociability between guests and for that you will have to make them circulate, placing several drinks and food’s points.

Do you feel especially ambitious? Then add some more elaborate dishes to the menu, that can be prepared a day or two beforehand, that can be heated on that day, or even served cold. There are several dishes (like stews, soups and roasted meats) which are perfect to heat on the spot and that can be served with only a salad. To the main dish you may also add a previously made dessert, like a pie or a cake, to which you may add a bit of ice-cream or some fruit.

Before going shopping or starting to prepare things, organise your refrigerator in order to save the previously made foods and everything else you might need.

Offer your guests dishes with a lot of vegetables, cereals and fruits… it is important that you always thing about a balanced diet.

If you are thinking about serving a buffet, then you should plan the control of the crowd. It all goes best if you divide the food in small plates and if you have it all already sliced.

Organise your guests, setting the table. If you are organising a buffet or an informal dinner with a single table, organise yourselves from left to right, place the plates, the napkins, the cutleries and the bread; then place the salad, the main dish and the sauces. At the end, place the glasses and the drinks. The dessert can be placed on the table for decorative effects or at the end of the main meal.

I you are serving a buffet, make some small card to identify the dishes. Also in the case of a buffet, you can wrap the cutleries in napkins and place them in a basket so that your guests can easily take them.

Always prepare a selection of items than can be served at room temperature. If you do so, you don’t have to worry with the hot first courses that might get cold, or with the cold dessert that is melting down.

Always have a lot of ice at hand!

Prepare the table beforehand, before the guests arrive.

For an easy access to a good presentation, place the spices in small recipients, all placed at the same area.

Have some plastic bags and Tupperwares to place the remains.

Make sure the places for garbage are perfectly evident.

Do not use your glasses, teapots or even silver trays to serve or only to drink, animate your creativity and use them to place flowers and decorate the place with joy.

Using candles for decoration is great to create a good ambience, but it also helps neutralising the food and the smoke’s odours.

Knowing how to control the portions

1. Always have some non alcoholic drinks.
2. Count 3 drinks per guest.
3. A meat portion corresponds to around 125 grams.
4. A portion of vegetables, rice, pasta or salad can be measured as a teacup per person.
5. Count 4 to 6 Hors d´Ovres per person, if you are serving them after a meal. If you serve the Hors d´Ovres with cocktails only, you should count around 12 per person.
6. A 22 cm pie (after a good meal) will be enough for 8 to 10 people.
7. Assume that some of your guests can be vegetarians.