How To Throw A Good Party, Part 2

Okay, so you've got good people coming, and you're going to give them a sense of shared purpose, and a relaxed and fun atmosphere.  What else?

Well, that relaxed and fun atmosphere doesn't just happen.  There's some things you need to take care of to make sure that comes together.  The most important thing, of course, is that the minute the first guest arrives, you are relaxed and fun.  No more preparing.  Of course, the first guest will inevitably arrive before you are ready, and you'll have a zillion things left to do.  But you're entertaining now, so your chance to have everything just right when the guests arrive is past.  You've failed, and that's okay.  You've got to relax, laugh, and smilingly help your guests feel good.  It's not going to be perfect, and your charming, friendly acceptance of that is the most important way your guests are going to be put at ease. 

You've thought of the obvious things, of course -- where the guests' coats will go, how the food and alcohol will be distributed around the house for traffic flow.  The drinks are in an obvious place, so guests can easily help themselves without troubling you.  That's been put in place before the first guest gets there.  And you've got a music playlist that will have people tapping their feet, rising in intensity as the party heats up, with some familiar tunes and some unexpected ones that guests will ask one another about.  (The music will slow down around the time you want people to leave, and perhaps even stop when it's time to go home -- all without your intervention during the party.) 

People are going to congregate in the kitchen no matter what you do, so you're going to need to accept it rather than trying to shoo them into the beautiful and comfortable living room.  You might get them in there with a project and by putting the booze and some of the best food out there, but there are going to be people in the kitchen no matter what so you'll have some food there, and you'll have the kitchen in an order that makes everyone reasonably comfortable being there.  And you'll have things for the guests who are there to DO: something needs to be chopped, surely, and something else poured into a bowl?  Something wrapped in aluminum foil?  Some candles to be lit and put around the party?  Delegating these tasks is sometimes more work than just doing them, but you are relaxed, you're sensitive to your guests' desire to be useful, you're flitting around the house taking care of last minute things, and you're able to give your guests concrete ways to contribute. 

You've hidden the breakables.  You're not concerned about spilling.  You've made things apparent to guests so that they can help one another: the corkscrew and the bottle opener are readily visible; the wastebasket is easy to find; there are vases on a shelf for flowers; there are plates and platters out; there's a dish of lemons and limes near a knife and a cutting board; the drawer with the serving spoons is the obvious one; it's easy to know where to put your coat and purse and to find them later.  The bathroom is easy to find.  Everyone can relax; your guests can navigate the house easily. 

Comments

[wab]

Okay, I'm sold. Can we hire you to organize our next party?

[chloweeeie]

yh same ^^^^^