For the past few weeks, I have been scouring Successful Entertaining at Home and I have been trying to decide when my first big entertaining (50's style, of course) event will be. I would love to have a cocktail party complete with highballs or a "hunt breakfast," complete with champagne or even just Saturday night supper with friends...complete with vino! I'm still in the deciding phase, but while I'm thinking about it, I would like to share some of Ms. Coggins' infinite wisdom on the topic of party planning.
The first piece of advice is to "be an armchair planner."
This is the business end of party giving, and you need to concentrate. Get a memorandum pad and a pencil - with a good end to bite on while you think - and settle down in the most comfortable armchair you can find (p. 19).
I like it. Get comfortable and then party plan. Perhaps I might be most comfortable planning in pjs with the fire going and a glass of...yes, vino. That really turns the planning into a party of sorts, which I'm guessing Ms. Coggins would approve of. Next, she advises us to plan the menu, as that is the focal point of any gathering.
Having decided what you will serve, right now is the time to make a grocery list and jot down on another sheet of paper Things to Be Done, for the party. Doing these now, and putting them on a spindle or wherever you can find them later, relieves you of that much of the required work.
I don't own a spindle, and I don't think I can do that sort of thing on my Kindle, so a simple notepad will have to suffice. Now I'm really starting to look forward to this party planning. Already it involves two things I love: comfort and lists. Check!
Now is the time to think about decorations, too, and any little novelty you decide might enhance your party. Jot down the supplies you'll need for these.
I had a Hawaiian themed get-together this past summer, that was very casual. My decor was those cheap plastic leis you get ten for a dollar at a party store. Much to my chagrin, no one really wanted them (they are very itchy) and I was left with many colorful things a baby could choke on strewn about my house. I may have to go very light on the decorations for any future shindigs I throw.
This may sound much more complicated than it is. By this time you have four lists - a guest list for your party, a menu, a shopping list for groceries and decorations or flowers, and a note to yourself about things to do, like "order extra ice Tuesday morning," "get candles."
More lists, huzzah!! I think I might need a whole notebook devoted solely to party planning and events...it's ok. You may take this moment to stop and make fun of me. But Carolyn and I aren't laughing with you, just so you know. Some people take their lists very seriously. And we're the ones who will be throwing the best parties.
While you are making plans, think about what you will wear to the party. Be sure the dress you wear is comfortable and that your shoes won't make your feet hurt.
That's good advice, if ever I heard it. And although I don't know the date or type of event I will soon host, I do know what I want to wear. I just so happened to have picked up a cute little black dress and heels at the mall yesterday. It's basically begging to be worn.
A good-looking hostess gown worn by you can be one way to make a quickly arranged supper at your house seem important and planned. On the other hand, if you are entertaining one person, a hostess gown may make the occasion more come-hither than you intend.
I'm not sure what qualifies a hostess gown (dress? I hear gown and prom or wedding immediately comes to mind...eek!) from a regular one, but I'm going to obey my LBD and wear it the first chance I get. Now I wish I could get Ms. Coggins (or June) on the phone to ask one last question: "Is it bad to plan the party around the dress?"
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