Well, first go to Home Depot and get plexiglass to cover the island...oh, ok, that was just me.

here are my tips:

Put the drinks in a room that nobody goes into. This way you will increase the flow of traffic and get the crowds moving away from the kitchen.

We did the food in the dining room. Again, it helped move the crowd.

Regarding what libations...We did one drink in a big dispenser, Mistletoe Martini--coconut rum, midori, sweet & sour mix, pineapple juice--equal parts. And we had one type of red wine and one type of white, and beer. We also had out a bottle of vodka and gin, along with OJ and tonic water. This was a big mistake. Couple of people (total strangers--it was a get to know you party for all the new neighbors) decided to tackle the Costco sized bottle of gin--they tried to finish it--3 people. Got a little messy, everybody walked to the party so thank goodness no driving, we would have had to cut them off. So, next time, I'm doing just martini, wine, and beer.

Sticky notes--put them on every serving platter and on every tray so you know what is going where, and also try to get a friend to help you and this will let them know where everything is going.

I forgot--if you are bringing several different social circles together, we have used a little game (and I hate games). You put famous people's names on a sticker, the guest upon arrival reaches into the hat pulls out a sticker and has it applied to their back. They can only ask one question of another guest while trying to figure out who they are. It really is a great ice breaker because after the question about "who am I?" they usually introduce themselves, etc.

This post was edited by beekeeperswife on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 19:49

I'm hoping to have more parties after the Advantium comes and we become friends!

On the rare occasion we have more people over than a simple dinner can handle, we always revert to the classic everything out on the table for a crowd. Chips, dips, finger foods that don't need any attention once prepared, crock pot, etc. these are usually family or close friends, so dinner is often gilled en masse or a large pot of spaghetti and meatballs.

Drinks are usually water, sodas, beer, sometimes mike's hard assortment or similar too, and usually sangria punch.

I have yet to figure out the organization side and delegation, so I am looking forward to hearing how actual parties are planned. When the house is put back together I want to break it in!

Usually we do appetizers and drinks, i.e. party starting at 8pm -ish. Hiring a bartender is absolutely worth it and I wouldn't do a party without one again. It's just too hard to keep tabs on who's had too much and needs a cab called when we're busying serving hors d'oeuvres and also imbibing ourselves. Actually my husband doesn't even drink, but it's just not practical for a host to keep tabs on the bar.

The bartender lets you know who's had too much, and while ours has never actually cut anyone off, we have called cabs for several people over the years (a couple of times earlier than they would otherwise have chosen to leave, lol) so they wouldn't be tempted to drive home. Only very occasionally is that an awkward 'conversation', but now that you can be held liable as hosts if your guests drink and drive you really just have to suck it up and do it.

Agree with setting up the bar in a room other than the kitchen. Usually we put it in the living room, but for one very large party where we had a dj and dancing etc, we actually set the bartender up in the garage. It worked out great and the garage was a very popular place that night! We had expected people to pretty much go get their drinks and come back inside, but many people hung out in the garage for extended periods ... it was fun and worked out really well.

We've done meals only a couple of times, once a post wedding day brunch and once a sit down dinner in our back yard for an occasion. Both times we hired caterers to who prepped and served the meals buffet style, provide the plates and glasses, cleared tables and refreshed drinks, etc.

Great thread! I'm trying to get back into entertaining as well. We used to be very active socially and entertained a lot. Then we had a late-in-life GLORIOUS surprise baby, and I was just too tired. For 6 years. No excuses anymore, and I want to show off my kitchen, even though still unfinished.

I plan to have some small dinner parties starting soon, with a detailed timeline for everything, down to minute, with as many nice make-aheads as possible (duck liver pate, creme brulee, etc.). We're also going to have the easiest big party EVER in March: a dessert and hors d'oeuvre contest. I buy the prizes and the booz (mostly wine in my crowd), and clean the house. Everyone else brings the food! Three winners are chosen by popular vote, prizes granted, then more wine imbibed. We had this party for years before our hiatus, and it was always a huge hit.

As for help, I do all the meal planning, cleaning before, food prep (used to have help with all this before our oldest got married and moved away!), but DH gracefully obeys my barked orders when I'm in the weeds, and does the dishes. And I'm a messy cook.

Oh, and our friends seem to very much enjoy the no entree heavy hors d'oeuvre format (I call it tapas), especially if I have a small smackerel of something sweet at the end, like homemade salted caramels with scotch.

Great topic!

a-great party vs good. Combination of the right day, the right mix of people, a good playlist on your stereo, enough food and drink, and a bit of anticipation. People like to get excited about a party, so send out the invites a couple of week ahead for a holiday party. If you send an Evite, send to both wife and husband's email. (no offense, but my DH never forwards them onto me if they only come to him. Then he isn't sure what time things start, the address, etc.......)

b- Yes appetizers and drinks are fine, but always have some meat/high protein foods so that people don't drink on an empty stomach. Or so that when your good time goes late, people aren't starving..

c-keep your bar stocked at all times. keep some yummies in the pantry so you can put out some nuts and olives and a plate of cheese and crackers if the opportunity presents itself. For a planned party, once you know it's on, you can spread out the work to your liking.

d-the amount of food depends on time of day and how many people. I like to have a nice variety. Enough visually that there is a plateful of food for each person.
For many of our casual parties, we put "please bring an appetizer to share" on the invitation, and it is something that people look forward to bringing and trying new recipes. (I know from some earlier posts on this board that this may not be socially acceptable in all areas of the country...so use your judgement here.)
e-your home needs to have a clean bathroom, clean kitchen, clean plates and glasses, and a place for people to put their purses and coats. You don't have to clean the basement or upstairs if you no one will be there, unless this is your first time hosting this crowd. Then in many circles people will expect "the tour" and you will unfortunately need to be ship shape everywhere.

f. If you have kids above the age of 2, then I would ask them to clean up their room, and if they don't just shut the door. Really. Really. You will be a hero to all other parents there (unless your mom is there too LOL!)

As far as the house proper, I would suggest your normal division of labor, with a master list that you work out with all of the necessary tasks. Then create a timeline of when things need to be done. For example, we host Thanksgiving, and DH and I will wash all of the barware about a week before. Then we know it will still be fine for Christmas and New Years.

g-if you invite the guests to brink their kids, then figure out where they will be expected to be, and make sure that they have what they need. Provide bottle water and canned soft drinks, and snacks that don't melt. Put away anything valuable or cherished, and then don't be one bit upset about having to clean up the next day. Let the kids PLAY!. Art supplies, legos, Wii, board games, cards. Make sure the kids understand how rude it is to hover by the adults all night....after all us moms need to talk! If you get this part right, that will be the big key to the party being enjoyable by all.

h-we always serve buffet style. Just more practical

i-Have a great playlist on the stereo. And if there is an important sports or news event happening during your party...for goodness sake put on the TV with the sound muted and the closed captioning on. If you don't, then expect your guests to all be "checking their phones" in the garage all night....

I would just show folks where the drinks are, and get them their first drink on arrival. They have the bar open so they can refresh as they wish. You can pop around maybe every 45 minutes (about the time you will need your next drink) and see if you can "get anything" for anyone.

j-Keep a stocked liquor cabinet, with booze and also mixers. Then you don't need to worry about being out of something. Try to remember to get the lemons, limes, cherries, olives a few days before. Get cocktail napkins whenever you see ones you like. They keep and are only a few dollars.
I personally would not limit the variety of what I put out because a few people drank too much in the past. (and since they knew they were not driving, this may have been a factor in their behavior). I would be sure to have a variety of sodas and sparkling water, and maybe make coffee as well.

It sounds to me like you know what needs to be done, but don't start doing the easy work soon enough, and then have too much to do all at the end. I think you need to look at your timetable and try to do more a bid earlier if you can.

We only entertain informally. Our New Year's Day party started Saturday (12/29) and everyone went home some time on New Year's Day. One couple stayed in a hotel, and some local guests came for a day (or each day), but about 15 stayed here (plus the 5 of us).

Because it's a large group and because we're all good friends, everyone pitches in. Some of our guests have been celebrating New Year's with us for 10 years, so they're all pretty comfortable here.

I start baking and cooking a few weeks early. BFF lives out of town and is our co-host, so she comes in several days early as well. Before BFF arrived, I had perhaps 20 dozen cookies in the freezer as well as 13 lbs worth of sloppy joes and another 15 lbs of ground beef for the planned lasagnas. (more food than we needed--quite a bit is now in the freezer)

We plan a lot of food that is crockpot serveable, since that allows for people to graze.

For some types of parties, the host provides everything, but I confess for my parties, especially this one, everyone contributes.

We push all the living room furniture closer to the bookcases and set up extra tables. Beverages go in the foyer (except for coffee). The charging station for laptops and phones goes in DH's office since he has a corner table that works well. A card table and chairs goes in my office.

We use large trash cans--2 for trash and 1 for recycling. We use paper hand towels in the bathrooms.

Starting the morning of the party (and sometimes the day before), we move totally to disposable dishes.

Saturday night, we had pulled pork and chili. (We had chili out in a crockpot most of the weekend.)

Sunday started with a breakfast casserole (made Saturday night and put in the fridge to be cooked in the morning). We had potato soup, meatballs, ham rollups, all sorts of sweets, cheese and crackers, and cheeseball during the day. We had lasagna, a veggie platter, and garlic bread for dinner. (Note: vegan lasagna cooks faster than regular lasagna).

Monday, one of the guests made quick quiches. We had more soup. We had pulled pork out. More chili. More various snacks and cheeses and mixed nuts. We had shrimp as it got closer to midnight. (Many of us were too busy playing Cards Against Humanity to get champagne at midnight)

Tuesday, we had leftovers--leftover quiche, leftover breakfast casserole, leftover lasagna...

(We're still eating leftovers at our house)

Our big thing is to keep things casual and that everyone helps. For formal parties, that wouldn't work. For us, saying "is there someone who wouldn't mind doing some dishes?" always gets a volunteer.

Certain tasks belong to my kids--and have for years. I have a list I print out before everyone gets here of their tasks--it changes a bit year to year. They are also responsible for cat care (food, water, box). They are responsible for restocking paper hand towels, taking out trash, and taking out the recycling. I never do any of that. I sometimes remind them--but they just hop to it. (DS even shoveled Saturday morning before I got up.)

DH is in charge of beverages--I remind him, too, but I don't do it. We always run a surplus, since people bring things--beer, alcopops, wine, soda, water. We serve those from coolers filled with ice. (Told you I was casual). We also decided to make a dent in our hard liquor, so we put all of that out on the table, too. I was going to make FFRTs (frozen fruity rum things) but never did.

I am not someone to ask about quantity. I worry my friends will starve to death so always make and buy too much.

For entertainment, we play a lot of games. I have games in my office on open shelves and people bring anything new they've gotten. (Cards Against Humanity was this year's big hit)

And for cleanup, one of our guests stayed an extra day--he put the furniture back, vacuumed, help put things back together. DD the older (home from college) did a lot of it when I went back to work Thursday.

As for the cleaning people--they come every 2 weeks here, so I don't do much special. I did more than I usually do because the holiday interfered with the regular schedule.

It was a great party, though.

a) What makes it a GREAT party as opposed to just a good party?
We plan for our annual Christmas party starting in January. That's no lie. We are already planning this year's menu as we like to shake things up. We invite a WIDE variety of people, with a variety of ages and backgrounds. Our party is the one party everyone in our sphere looks forward to - we begin getting questions in August as to when the party will be. I think having a good plan in place is key to having a great party.

b) Do just appetizers and drinks party work?
We do hors d'oeurves and drinks, with coffee and dessert later in the evening. For our party (which normally ends up with about 30-35 in attendance) we do a mix of hot and cold HDs, and about 12-14 different kinds. In addition to that we put out chips, dip, nuts, and chex mix for people to snack on while they wait for the "good stuff" to come out.

c) What homework do you do? How far ahead?
As I said, we begin planning in January. By June we'll have tested out recipes and pretty much finalized our menu, and then we spend the next few months deciding if we want to switch out anything else. Our first announcement email goes out in OCTOBER so we know everyone has it on their calendar.

d) FOOD - How do you decide what to cook and how much.
We've been throwing this party for 15 years, so we've got it down to a science. We make 12-14 hors d'oeurves, all bite sized. We make a mix of vegetarian, gluten-free, seafood, chicken, seafood and beef so that everyone can get something they like. This year all but two of our hors d'oeurves were gluten-free. We find if we make 50-60 pieces of each hors d'oeurves, it's more than enough and we can then make plates for the few people who are not able to make it but specifically request we save them some food (we usually get 2-3 of those requests each year). Then it leaves just enough that my husband and I can have some over the next couple days after the party when we don't feel like cooking. We typically do not eat during our parties, and so we like to have the leftovers so we can know how good the food really was!

e) What else besides food. I am most curious about this. Do you get the housecleaners before the party or after.
We have the entire main floor of the house deep-cleaned the day before the party, and then lock up the pets the morning of the party. We also ALWAYS take off the day before from work so that we can spend the whole day prepping the food in advance. The week before the party we begin making cookies because we always give away a container of 10-12 different cookies to each guest at the end of the night. Yes, this means we make 4-5 dozen of 10-12 different kinds of cookies the week leading up to the party!

f) How do you divide and conquer - What are the roles and tasks and how best to divvy them up between [everyone]
We normally EACH pick 5-6 hors d'oeurves to prepare. Once our food list is finalized, we make a grand master list of EVERY item we need from the grocery store, which my husband then buys (i.e., if 7 recipes call for a total of 20 eggs between them, my husband buys two dozen eggs). We also divide up the cookie baking equally - he picks 5-6, I pick 5-6. My husband is also in charge of liquor purchases, while I take care of prepping coffee, tea, egg nog, and jello shots (when we decide to make them, which isn't every year). We also divide the tasks such as last minute vacuuming, polishing the silver, organizing seating around the house, getting the firepit set up in the backyard, etc.

g) What do you do with kids.
When my kids were younger we got a sitter and kept them upstairs for the night and let the sitter go home once they were asleep. When they got older (5- and 6-yrs-old, respectively) we let them hang out downstairs for the first hour of the party, then put them to bed before we got started with the heavy hors d'oeurve service. Now that they are 8- and 9-yrs-old, respectively, we let them stay downstairs for the whole event, including the White Elephant game that is the highlight of the evening. They really enjoyed themselves and can't wait until they are old enough to participate themselves. We ask our guests NOT to bring kids so they can enjoy the night without having to worry about them.

i) Do you actually plan entertainment?
We play Christmas music during the party and then we cap off the night with our annual White Elephant game, which lasts just over an hour. Our guests know the party schedule. 6-7 p.m. light hors d'oeurves (chips/dip) while we wait for people to arrive. 7-9:00 heavy hors d'oeurves and socializing. 9:00-10:30 - White Elephant game. 10:30 - ?? Dessert, coffee, more socializing.

j) How do you mingle and have a nice time and not worry about the appetizers or drinks
We mingle during the first hour, as well as while serving the hors d'oeurves. I'm "in charge" of plating all the food as it comes out of the oven/fridge, and then my husband and I split up and take platters around to every guest to serve the food personally. The result is that we each get to talk to every single person as we also pass out the food.

j) Libations
As I said, coffee, tea, egg nog, sodas, beer, wine, liquor, and sometimes jello shots. We serve just about everything.

I know this email was long, but besides poker nights and movie nights our Christmas party is THE big event that we do every year since we got married in 1997. It's a lot of fun and we really look forward to it every year.

For the love of Pete, this is the third time I have typed my response. Each time deeper into the margaritas so I apologize now for any errors, grammatically or otherwise.

We too, like fouramblues have taken an entertaining hiatus. This year I finally said "scr@w it" and had a party! Our invitations were informal sent in our Christmas cards to those we wanted to invite. Some are old friends who we have known since we moved here almost 8 years ago. Others are newer acquaintances.

This was an open house type event so everyone could come and go as they please as I know so many are busy this time of year. The reason we have been on this entertaining hiatus is due to the fact that we have been in our "temporary house" for 7.5 years and we have no room. Also, in certain areas we are in need of immediate repair. As I said before though, I finally said "who cares" and if someone comes over for free booz, good food and friends and has a comment about our living environment then that is on them!!!

So, very informal though any social event at ones home will work them like a dog! We cleaned inside and out ourselves. I served heavy hor'doeurves with a protein. I think there always needs to be good protein. This time it was sliced turkey (given to us by a client, so that was money saved) with the appropriate accompaniments. There were a couple of other appetizers I would have liked to have served but because of the fact that they had to served immediately after preparation or some other reason (and my kitchen is a one person show) I didn't do them this year. Most everything could be prepared ahead of time and out for display and consumption right before everyone got there.

Libations: this responsibility is given to DH. He takes care of this. We have all types of drinkers and sophistications (real or not) at our parties so there is beer (domestic, foreign, microbrewed, etc.), whiskeys and bourbons, vodkas with their appropriate accompaniments. These are all served outside on the patio near the firepit. Wine (Chardonnay and Merlot) are served inside. Generally, unless it is realllly cold most can find their way outside to the fire and generally this is where the men stay while the women gravitate inside.

Kids are on their on. Oldest is 17 so he is at a party for his friends and youngest is six is at my mom's.

I do wish I had asked for RSVPs on this invite but I didn't as it was come and go. Next year I will due to families being out of town with soccer tournaments, etc. Hope I didn't leave anything out. I do recommend a bartender. There are several cocktails I would like to serve during the holidays but unless I bartend it is not likely. And I do not want to tend bar!!

I forgot about entertainment.... We had an ipod outside playing random music and my set inside playing Christmas music. Particularly my favorites like "New Orleans Christmas" from Putamayo and Jewel's Christmas CD. Also, I have all of the TVs playing Christmas movies with the sound turned off: "Christmas Vacation", "Elf", "Love Actually", "A Christmas Story", "Family Stone", etc.

My DH and I have been hosting a New Year's Eve party for over 15 years. (This year was the first in our new kitchen!) We have between 30-50 guests.
We keep it very simple:

The guests bring an appetizer to share. Everyone loves the opportunity to try out a new recipe and it keeps my prep VERY easy. :) I'll make a few appetizers and desserts (including a chocolate fountain) while my DH gets the wine glasses, wine-glass holding party plates and wine ready.
We have a family room downstairs for the kids to hang out. My kids are all teenagers and older now as well as most of their friends who come over.
The only alcoholic drinks we tend to serve is wine. Most of our friends are wine snobs (we live in northern CA) and that's their preferred drink. They will usually have wine tastings of specific varietals.
We may have Christmas music in the background but that tends to get drowned out with all the talking.
We do a light cleaning before the party and then another one after. My parents, who are usually in town, and my 5 kids help quickly get the house back in shape the next day.
We email an invite (which is more of a reminder since we do this every year). We don't ask for an RSVP - there is always plenty of food since everyone contributes.
At midnight we set off sparklers and fireworks in the street.

Good times for all!

What great and detailed responses! I wanted to come to each one of your fabulous parties. If it is not too much to ask, any photographs of your setups? How do you set up the drinks? Hors d'oeuvres? Crockpots?

Where are the plates? The glasses? Do you use paper plates and disposable glasses? If not what else? The platic waste always bothers me, but i always give in as we don't have enough or the right kind? So what is the right kind?

Bethhio3 - DH & I both wondered about the sleeping arrangements? How do you fit them in.. Your party sounded like such a fun gathering. I confess that I did read up on cards against humanity and tried to buy it only to find that it is sold out!

Bee - how big of a drink dispenser? Do you keep ice on the side or do you add it in the dispenser?

What is a well stocked liquor cabinet? Are there certain must haves? We are not big drinkers and always overspend at BevMo and Costco right before the party?

Jaynees- we loved your division of duties between your DH & yourself. Can you share what was on bite sized HD menu this year? Also do tell about your poker nights and movie nights. Great tips about the babysitter for kids. I think we would benefit from this - sounds like money well spent.

Juliekcmo- good point about the early invite. I do not do it early enough.. It does sound more and more like this is a case of not planning for the big test or project early enough :) dang.. I should read that book on procrastination I bought in 2007 as a new year resolution :)

Louisianapurchase- I hear ya. Looks like the open house worked well for you. If I hear one more curious or well intentioned friend or relative ask when the house will be done, I will want to go at it with a knife and commit some crimes to a pile of potatoes or onions. Good point on RSVP.. I always forget but end up over cooking.

I can't wait to hear from more of you.

Jell-O shots......guaranteed good time no matter what the occasion. I always mix it up (I used to be a bartender so I can never make the same drinks for every party...and actually that's one of the things our guests look forward to). But, here are jello shooter favorites I always get asked to make over and over again....

Malibu Rum and either pineapple or blue raspberry jello
Amaretto and black cherry jello

Fail safe :)

Oh and for our Christmas party....we always do the White Elephant gift exchange....it's hysterical, fun and everyone looks forward to it all year to see who will get stuck with the one gift that returns every year.

A note about dishes and glasses: years ago I bought 48 buck-a-stem wine glasses that are just fine for a big party (we use the nice stemware for smaller gatherings) and 48 appetizer plates from C&B. I never have to feel guilty about throw-away products, and the stuff has more than paid for itself by now. I used to have to store it in the attic, the only drawback for me, but now it's just around the corner in the pantry, hooray!

If you are not such big drinkers of spirits, then I think it may be a mistake to get the large "handles" at Costco. Get a smaller bottle at a regular liquor store, and more variety.

For what I would consider a "well stocked" bar, you need IMHO the following:

To start:

Everything needed to make your parents' favorite 2-3 drinks, and for any other relatives who visit at the holidays.

For us these drinks are: bloody mary, manhattan, gin and tonic, rum and soda, kaluha and bailey's for coffee, nice red and white wine, and a nice microbrew beer, and Bud Light in bottles. To me, it seems rude to have people (family) over for the holidays and not have their favorites, so we will be sure to have the liquor and mixers on hand for these particular drinks.

Then for our parties with friends, we add in tequila and margarita mixer, different mixers like cranberry juice and orange juice, scotches, sippin whiskey like Gentleman Jacks, and a larger variety of beer.

And this may sound like a lot, but the stuff does keep. So that's why I say better to buy the "fifth" sized bottles and have everything, then to buy the "handles" and not have enough variety. And like many things in life, this is not a place to skimp on quality. The brands carried at places such as Costco are what I consider "expected" quality brands. I would buy smaller sizes at the liquor store, but I would not buy cheaper brands. That's a hangover waiting to happen.

I agree about fourmblues regarding glassware. We have generally enough glass glasses for everyone. I get on sale and C&B or Pier 1 and our home has a lovely butler's pantry where we keep it all. That is also where we set up the bar.

Malibu Rum and Pineapple has been my signature drink for about 20 years. =)

Our food this year:
Stuffed mushrooms � DH makes these every year.

Bruschetta � we made three kinds this year. Pesto, goat cheese and artichoke. The artichoke recipe we found on Pinterest.

Curried shrimp tarts � these were a huge hit last year, and were a hit again this year.
Bacon-wrapped pineapple � these are really easy and tasty!

Mini yorkshire puddings � Instead of the typical bread pudding I wrapped the filet, sour cream and horseradish in a single sheet of phyllo dough. I got good feedback on this one.

Maple salmon bites � yummy, yummy, yummy, and simple. Just marinate bite-sized pieces of salmon in a maple syrup/soy sauce blend. We marinate them for 24 hours.

Meatball popovers � DH made meatballs and then wrapped them in crescent roll dough. Big hit!

Crab cakes � DH made these with gluten free corn bread this year.

Honey BBQ chicken on romaine hearts � this year I was only able to make 20 of these, and they were gone in an instant.

Mini french onion grilled cheese sandwiches � using gluten-free bread

Mini stacked BLT bites � this was the first hors d�oeurves that we served and people really liked them. Pretty easy to make, we�ll probably do these again. Another Pinterest recommendation.

Sausage bites � fill a phyllo cup with sausage, two kinds of cheese and red peppers. Can�t go wrong.

Mini quesadillas � using gluten-free tortillas, we made three varieties (cheese, beef, chicken) and served them with sour cream as a dip. People really liked these.

BBQ chicken bites � alas, we didn�t serve these at all. There�s always a dish we forget to bring out, and this was it. The next morning we still had all of them in a tupperware container in the fridge! My DH cooked them up for lunch that afternoon and declared them VERY good.

Andi- How much Malibu do you put in the jello? Just curious, haven't made jello shots since college, and then the preportions were off...

GWlolo, we have a pretty big 5 bedroom house.

DH and I don't share our room :-)
BFF gets her room and another guest set up a cot in there.
One couple gets my son's bed and another person gets the futon in there.
One couple gets one daughter's bed and another gets an air mattress on the floor.
We dubbed the other daughter's room as the men's dormitory--I don't even know who used the bed or how they managed the air mattresses.
The "kids" (ages 17-24) slept in the basement rec room.

We never put anyone in the great room--they'd be last asleep and first awake. We have put an air mattress in DH's office some years.

We used to have a "woman's dormitory" but one of the woman is now part of a couple, so we've had to re-arrange things a bit. One thing I do is to divvy out beds to the older couples--the ones in their 60s and 70s get beds. The ones in their 40s and 50s get air mattresses.

Obviously, this doubling and tripling up wouldn't work with strangers--but we're all really good friends.

What a great post!

We moved into our house in March of 2012 and we love to entertain. It is much easier in the warmer months since we have a large covered patio and the kids can play outside.

However, we hosted our first large indoor gathering this past Christmas and it was very stressful!! So what were the lessons learned from this last party??

1) Make rules for the children.
-We found food in toy bins and stickiness from spilled juice on the playroom floor. Next time we will tell kids that food and drink are only allowed in the kitchen and dining room.
-Designate one bathroom for the kids and put kid friendly towels in them. We have a beautiful powder room which got torn apart...scuffs on our beautiful vanity, stains on the nice towels, etc. Next time we will tell the kids to use the kids bathroom only.
-LOCK doors! We did this for this party and it worked out great! We locked the toy room closet and left out several toys that were easy to put away. We also locked bedroom doors that we didn't want kids to go into. Closing a door is not enough! Kids usually end up opening closed doors out of curiosity or open them if they decide to play hide and seek! In our case this forces kids to stay in the play room area only with the kids bathroom close by.

2) Make sure you get RSVP's. We made WAY too much food so we ended up sending guests home with food. Even still a lot of food was wasted. I think it is always better to have too much food rather than not enough, but it was excessive in our case!

3) Clean as you go! We have double dishwashers so I could have easily cleaned up while talking to the ladies after dinner. Instead we all sat around and relaxed. The kids then had meltdowns and many were not able to stay and help clean up. My hubby got called into work at the end of the night and I was left with a major kitchen disaster at the end of the night! Yikes!! I think in the future I may hire a pair of high school gals to help keep the kids in order, help serve, and help clean up at the end of the night!

Now for things that DID work out:
-Preparing as much as I could the night before (e.g., setting the table, setting up beverages, putting out platters with sticky notes labeling what will go in them the next day, empty dishwashers, clean bathrooms and check toilet paper, etc)

-Asking guests to bring something. I provided the main dishes and some appetizers. But then guests brought salad, side dishes, and dessert. We had designated areas for the appetizers/salad, main/side dishes, and dessert. So when the guests arrived we had them place the food in the appropriate area. I have learned to not have guests bring main dishes. We've run into problems in the past where people brought small dishes and there wasn't enough food to go around.

-Self-serve beverage station. We get drinks for guests when they first arrive, then we make it easy for them to serve themselves for the rest of the night. We usually do beer, wine, and sometimes margaritas. Then we have a large self serve beverage jar that has water and lemon slices in it. And then juice for the kids. Juice boxes are a no-no because inevitably the kids squeeze too hard and the juice gets everywhere. At dessert time, we turn on a huge hot water dispenser and leave out a tray of different teas and chai.

For the kids we leave out plastic cups and a Sharpie pen for parents to write their kids' names on the cups. Then for the adults I leave out wine and/or margarita glasses with charms on them (the charms are all different so guests can easily identify their charm/glass). I also leave out crystal clear plastic cups for adults to use if they want water. Depending on the size of the party, for hot drinks I will leave out either mugs or disposable hot cups.

BTW, I also have crystal water goblets at each adult place setting. And I leave a crystal pitcher of water on the table at dinner time.

-Having an adult table and a kids table. We had the adult table in the dining room and the kids table in the breakfast nook. This allowed us to have nice adult conversation without the kids interrupting us. We also had the kids eat first so adults could assist if needed. Makes for a more peaceful adult dinner time since the kids mostly played while we ate.

-We did a gift exchange for the kids only. It was fun to watch kids open up a gift.

-We took family pictures. We pulled each family to the fireplace area and took a family picture for them. I still have yet to email them out :)

I have to admit, I was not crazy about doing an indoor party for that many adults and kids. Clean up was MUCH harder indoors. We may have to do a Christmas in July party this year so we can have the party outdoors!! Or have an adult only party at Christmas time.

This post was edited by janealexa on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 17:52

Drewem - the large jello box calls for 2 cups of water total. So, I boil 1 cup of water, mix that with the jello powder til it dissolves, and then add 1 cup of alcohol. This makes about 30 shooters (I use the standard 2 oz cups w lids)

Any tips for outdoor parties? We have a larger backyard and can do larger parties if we can use outdoor space.

what kind of food works for outdoor summer party?
Drinks?
What do you need to make outdoor entertaining comfortable?
How to serve food outdoors so that it remains fresh and does not attract bugs.
Are patio heaters, firepits or outdoor lights worthwhile?
Do you do anything to prevent the outdoor dirt being trekked into the house.

Janealexa- the kid control ideas are great! We are at an age that most of our friends have young kids(5-11), and parties mean having kids + adults.

Behthio- DH really wants to do a family getogether with his large family (30+) people with all the siblings, nieces etc. We are going to use your tips to try and do this. Thank you so much for sharing how you host your party.

Jaynees- your menu sounds wonderful! I understand now that variety is required for a GREAT appetizer party.