ABCDlady Magazine - for the American Born Confident Desi

Cocktails and Cuisine

By Vidya Kurella

Party Planning 101

Are you thinking about having a holiday party this year but are intimidated by the idea? You don’t have to be. Just like most of you, I am not Martha Stewart. But, I really enjoy bringing my family and friends together, whether for celebrating a special occasion or for no reason at all. Hosting a party of any kind takes some work, but it’s definitely doable. If you are having a cocktail party or even a dinner party, the key to a successful party is planning. If you plan ahead, the event will be stress-free for you. Here is a 4-week countdown of the things you can do to prepare.

Planning Ahead (4 weeks before the event)

Photo by Rodrigo Torres

Set a theme. Are you celebrating a special occasion, just having some friends over for a BBQ or planning a surprise birthday party for your boyfriend? Be clear about the purpose of the event, because that will make things easier down the road.

Make a guestlist. Do you want to invite your family, your close friends, or everyone you know? Make a list and write down every person you want to invite. You can change the list later, but you need to establish approximately how many people you want to invite.

Set a budget. This is extremely important but flexible. If you’ve decided to throw your parents an anniversary dinner party, and your guestlist has 40 people on it, obviously, you can’t have a budget of $100, right? Well, not necessarily! You could make it a potluck event so all you have to do is send out invitations and organize all the aunties to bring everything you need. But, if you’re just inviting four people over for cocktails and you have $100 to spend, maybe you can buy yourself some new stemware. Set the budget first, then make it work for the event later.

Secure a location for the event. Is the event appropriate to have in your apartment or house? Do you have access to a party room or do you want to rent a private space at a bar? Remember, you want everyone to able to get there without too much hassle and to be comfortable in the venue. Don’t invite 100 people to your studio apartment. Similarly, don’t host your boyfriend’s birthday party in your building’s party room, if you’re only inviting five of his closest friends.

Create a menu. This is probably the trickiest step. Selecting a menu can be overwhelming. Take your time. You'll be planning well in advance, so you can research recipes and figure out ones that work for you. When I'm looking for a new recipe, I often try the internet. There are tons of recipes out there for everything from chocolate chip cookies to palak paneer. And, many times, there are recipe reviews, so you can see what other cooks thought of the recipe and what changes, if any, they might recommend. Read the recipes carefully, and make sure you know what all the ingredients are and understand all the cooking techniques.

And, the last tip here is to always make a little more food than you think you’re going to need. If you’re having 12 people over, make enough food for 15. Sometimes, people bring guests at the last minute. It would be embarrassing to be caught without enough food. And, leftovers can always be frozen or sent home with your guests.

Getting Organized (2-3 weeks before the event)

Send out invitations. Now that you’ve done all this work, it’s time to let people know about your party. Remember, depending on the number of people that will attend, you may have to make some changes to your location, budget or menu, so be sure to ask people to RSVP. Evite is a popular web-based program that allows you to invite guests and monitor responses easily. If you use formal invitations, make sure you provide clear instructions for how and when your guests should respond.

When deciding on the menu, keep the following tips in mind:

1. Type of menu: Is it a four-course dinner, just hors d’oeuvres or just dessert? You will have to decide if your guests will be standing up or sitting down and whether or not they will have plates and silverware. Different parties require different menus, but decide what types of food you will serve before you decide on the food items.

2. Types of foods: Decide on vegetables, meats, sweets, low fat, low carb, etc. You want to have something for all your guests to enjoy. Make sure you keep in mind people’s dietary restrictions. If you don’t know them, you may want to ask.

3. Temperatures: Choose a mixture of hot and cold items. This is not only satisfying to the palate but also makes planning easier. If you choose menu items that all need to be served hot, you will be stressed out just when your guests are arriving.

4. Colors and textures: Visualize all the items you’ve picked out and imagine what they would like together on a plate. Make sure that there isn’t too much of any one color or texture. A rule that I live by is that if it looks good, people are more likely to eat it.

5. Preparation techniques: This is particularly important. Don’t create an entire menu of items that need to be prepared the day of the event. It will ruin your day. Pick out some recipes that can be prepared in advance. Some foods such as dips, soups, pastries, and cookies can be made days ahead. And, oftentimes, parts of recipes can be made ahead, such as meat marinades, salad dressings, pasta/curry sauces and tapenades. Keep in mind also that many dishes, including Indian curries, taste better after the flavors have had some time to marry. Plan a menu that allows you to completely make some items in advance and make parts of other items in advance. Think about buying some things pre-made too—like roti and naan. Buying these at your local South Asian grocery store can save you a lot of time and stress. Then, on the day of the party, you only have to make a few things and put a few things together.

Buy non-perishable items. Purchase everything but the food long before the party. This includes plates, cups (count at least 3 per person), silverware, napkins, trash bags, etc. If you’re hosting a wine and cheese party, make sure you have enough wine glasses and cheese knives. If you’re having a sushi party, get those chopsticks. Don’t forget to make sure that you have enough serving platters, bowls and spoons.

Prepare the Ambiance. This is also the time to get decorations for the walls or for the table. Candles and table runners are particularly nice items that add a lot of character to an event. And, don’t forget the music. A trick I use is to put in five CDs in my stereo and hit random and repeat. The CDs play all night, just like my own DJ. And, to make it personal, burn the CDs yourself. You could also enlist one guest to be responsible for the music all night.

Getting Ready (1 week before event)

Check out the party space. Make sure it is clean and determine where you will put people, food, drinks, coats, etc. If you want people to take off their shoes before entering your home, make sure you have a place to put them.

Buy beverages. This includes alcohol, non-alcoholic beverages and don’t forget the water. Buy a little more than you think you need—extra drinks in the house is never a bad thing. Keep in mind what your guests might bring or what you can ask them to bring.

If you want to have a cocktail party, but can’t afford a fully stocked bar, select one or two drinks and mix up batches of those.

Then just serve the “theme” drinks alongside beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages.

I like to bake bread the day of the party if I’m having the event in my home, because the smell of freshly baked bread is very inviting.

A shortcut however is to bake the bread earlier, freeze it and reheat it the day of the party.

Start making some of the food. Since you’ve picked out some recipes that can be prepared ahead of time, make your grocery list and start cooking. Not only will you be making your life easier in the days ahead, but you’ll also get yourself into the party-hosting mood!

Night Before

Buy ice/Chill beverages. Chill beer, wine and soda. Get a cooler or bucket, if space is an issue.

Decide what you will be wearing. Wash and iron your clothing, if needed.

Decorate/arrange the party space. If you’re using balloons, don’t get them too early--or get helium filled balloons, as they usually last for a few days. If your party space is your house--now’s the time to clean—not tomorrow!

Day of Event

Double-check the space. Make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.

Finish preparing the food. If you've followed the tips in this article, you’ll be prepared and should not have too much to do.

Lay out all the food and beverages. This is the fun part! You’ve worked so hard, and now it’s time to show off. Prepare all your food to be served--put it out on serving platters, pour it into serving bowls or plate it, and cover everything with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Any hot food can be kept in the oven at 200 degrees while you wait for guests to arrive. And cold foods can be kept in the refrigerator.

Get dressed. If I’ve planned a party well, I always have plenty of time to get ready. Sometimes, I even have time to get my nails done after all the hard work and just before all the fun.

15-30 minutes before guests are due to arrive. Light candles, set out food, ice and chilled drinks. Turn on music and great ready for a great event!

Vidya Kurella is an attorney living in New York City who enjoys entertaining her friends and family in her spare time. She learned her party-planning skills from the best hostess she knows, her mom.