I love to host parties. I think this site provides good evidence of that. I’ve thrown Avocado Toast Brunches, Caramel Apple Parties, Valentine’s Making Craft Sessions, Build Your Own Salad Dinners, Pie Parties, and Whiskey Tasting Birthdays. Over the past several parties, I have picked up a few tricks and tips that I thought I should share with you.
1. Everyone loves bacon. When I hosted the Avocado Toast Brunch for my blogging friends, I cooked 2 pounds of bacon. Then 6 months later, Charles wanted a cup of bacon at his 35th birthday party. I thought that having a giant cup of bacon at a cocktail party would seem weird, but everyone loved it. Now I cook up a couple pounds of bacon for every party. If something that easy can make people so happy, just go with it.
2. But… accommodate vegetarians too. So not everyone loves bacon. I always make sure at least half of the food I am serving is vegetarian. On a side note, I avoid nuts altogether, since so many friends have allergies.
3. Supplement homemade food with some takeout. Don’t feel like you need to make everything from scratch. Make things easy on yourself and order some food. Most recently I had 5411 Empanadas deliver for a party, and it was perfect. Their baked empanadas are seriously good, and inexpensive. Empanadas are an ideal party food because they are substantial, while still being finger food.
4. Use disposable plate and flatware. It doesn’t have to be ugly. I love Restaurantware’s products (pictured above), which are eco-friendly and really pretty. Disposable products make clean up so much easier. You can get 10% off your Restaurantware order with the code THEKITCHEN10.
5. A couple of tricks will keep people out of the kitchen. We always put a cooler of beer on the front balcony so that the men don’t need to go to the fridge for fresh drinks. I mix a pitcher of a cocktail and put it on the kitchen table, along with glasses and straws. Making drinks available to guests without them needed to go to the kitchen prevents chaos in the kitchen.
6.Flowers are the perfect decoration. No need to complicate things, a vase filled with one variety of flowers is simple and elegant.
7. Always empty the trash and the dishwasher before a party. This makes cleanup much faster.
Mary Beth
Wednesday 17th of June 2015
Thanks for post, I never knew of Restaurantware and want to get some pretty throwaways for my next 4th of July picnic, especially the foil cowhide cups!