The Cocktail Party

The cocktail party presents its hosts and guests with the ultimate excuse to dress up, eat, drink and mingle, without too much pressure. These parties are designed to allow a diverse group of people to meander amongst one another while enjoying fun cocktails, wine and beer, as well as finger foods.

Advantages
There are several advantages to opting for a cocktail party above other styles:

• They are casual, while still being sophisticated, making them suitable for any sort of occasion.
• Because a cocktail party usually only lasts about two hours, it assures the host of a relatively short time during which guests need to be cared for.
• This is a great option for a host with a diverse group of friends or colleagues, as guests are able to mingle as they please, rather than being placed next to or across the table from one particular person.
• The menu can be relatively cheap, while still offering fun, interesting snacks.
• Cocktail menus consist of a number of little treats, giving guests a choice of several eats, rather than being confined to one or two dishes.

Food and Beverages
By its very nature, the cocktail party demands fun drinks and finger foods. Some ideas are:
Drinks:

• Martinis
• Cosmopolitans
• Plenty of champagne and champagne-based cocktails
• Bloody Marys
• Long Island Iced Teas
• Strawberry Daiquiris
• Pina Coladas

Snacks:

• Veg sticks with hummus or another good quality dip
• Springrolls
• Pâté on seed loaf
• Smoked salmon on potato rostis
• Chicken nuggets
• Beef strips with a sweet honey and mustard dip
• Mussels in the shell with a spicy salsa

Entertainment
Because a cocktail party is not very long, it is not generally necessary to have a huge array of entertainment. Some tasteful background music is appropriate. If the cocktail party is in aid of a particular product or person, a guest speaker or presenter may need to say a few words. In terms of music, a playlist of easy-listening music will do perfectly.

Venue
Before choosing your venue, decide on the theme of the cocktail party. This will help to determine what kind of setting would suit it best. Then, estimate how many guests you can expect and ensure that there is room for mingling and moving around, even with scattered cocktail tables and chairs. There should be ample facilities (such as parking, bathrooms, and a kitchen, if necessary). Cost and availability will, ultimately, determine your venue of choice.

Tips on How to Host a Cocktail Party

Cocktail parties may have taken a little break during the more casual decades of the 1960's and 1970's, but since then they have regained their popularity with full strength. Wine and beer are still popular beverages, but there has been a tremendous resurgence in the popularity of mixed drinks.

For the busy host, a cocktail party is a convenient way to entertain any kind of guest list ranging from neighbors to business associates. The typical time for this party is only two hours. Because of the fluid nature of this party (no pun intended!) you can mix guests who might not feel comfortable sitting across from one another at a three-hour dinner party.

My favorite part of hosting a cocktail party is that you can experiment with a wide variety of food on your menu. Since everyone will be eating only little tastes, if they don't like something, you can be confident that there will be plenty of other choices for them. Everyone is likely to find something they will enjoy.

Whether you're an experienced cocktail party host, or are just stepping into the stylish world of cocktail party entertaining, here are tips to help make your next party a successful event.

1. Stock up on plenty of ice. You'll need it for chilling bottles of wine or champagne as well as serving in drinks on the rocks. A good rule of thumb is plan to have 1-pound of ice per guest.
2. Be prepared with an assortment of glass styles to cover the type of drinks you plan to serve. These include wine glasses for wines, juice and water; straight-sided highballs for tall drinks; tumblers for spirits and juices; and martini glasses.
3. Have twice as many glasses on hand as guests. For wine, champagne and martini glasses, wine glass charms will help guests to keep track of glasses as they mill about your party.
4. For a 2-hour party where you only plan on serving wine and/or champagne, you'll need to have one bottle for every two guests. Have a mix of white and red varieties. White used to be the predominant favorite, but red is becoming just as popular.
5. For a basic bar you'll want to stock up on vodka, whiskey, wines and beer. For a more complete bar you can add gin, tequila, rum, bourbon, vermouth, sherry, and brandy.
6. Don't forget to stock up on mixers including orange juice, soda, tonic, ginger ale, cola, tomato juice, Tabasco, lemons, limes, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce.
7. If you anticipate your guests will be wine drinkers, you can prepare by uncorking a few bottles in advance, and then replacing the corks.
8. Consider hiring a bartender to mix the drinks for your party. That will allow you much more time to socialize with your guests. There are even caterers that specialize in bartending services only.
9. Have coffee available for any guests that may need a little assistance at the end of the party. Your local taxi company phone number should also be handy and offered to any guests you believe shouldn't be driving.
10. As our Cocktails Guide points out, a cocktail party is not a family event!

 The beauty of cocktail party food is that it can be a fun, eclectic selection of items. Since nobody will be eating lots of any one item, you can toss in a few experiments and still have enough safe items so that no one will go home hungry.