Nancy, I read your request for advice, all the replies, and then read your original request again. I was a caterer for many years, and will say this: I would have the party at 7pm. You are already planning on having some hot and cold hors d'oeuvres - add a few more, and call it a "Cocktail Buffet". This denotes heavy hors d'oeuvres, and your guests will/should know it certainly doesn't mean a full meal, but substantial enough that they shouldn't have dinner before coming to your house. My suggestions: COLD: Meat & Cheese platter - roast beef, ham, turkey, sliced cheeses (opt.) - with a basket of small, sliced rolls and condiments on the side Cheese ball assortment (3) - with a variety of crackers - perhaps some fresh fruit around the edges of the cheese platter. Artichoke or Spinach dip - served in Hawaiian bread round, using cubes of the bread to dip with HOT: Seafood Dip - crabmeat or shrimp - with melbas for dipping Little Smokies in sauce made of Chili Sauce & Grape Jelly (folks love 'em, even after all these years) SWEETS: I would have one platter of brownies, lemon squares, and small sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon-sugar. You could have coffee set up by the dessert tray. ******* None of the above is too difficult to prepare, and would provide your guests with plenty of choices. As for the games/entertainment - I think nowadays people like to chit-chat rather than anything else. Have some nice music playing in the background, low enough to be able to have conversations. Good luck!

I like Swedish Glogg or Wassial (hot mulled wine) served from the steaming crockpot. It warms the body like few other things can. It is served in mugs so it is not so likely to tip and spill. Just be sure to have your guests choose a designated driver for each carload (people tend to carpool to get here) since it packs a good kick. Lee AKA Fireraven9 Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their heads. The wind is passing by. -Â Â Christina Rossetti Here is a link that might be useful: Glogg Wine Description and Recipes

blizlady, that would be Sherry (sheshebop), she makes the spinach "brownies" and I love 'em. How many people do you have to serve appetizers to, Dawn? Little pate choux puffs, tiny cream puffs, can be filled with various fillings including chicken salad, egg, tuna or seafood salad, a thick southwestern chicken kind of filling, whatever you like. I make rye puffs and fill with reuben fillings and they can be done ahead of time easily. Reuben Puffs 1 cup water 1/2 cup butter, cubed 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rye flour 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Caraway seeds CORNED BEEF FILLING: 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 2 packages (2 ounces each) thinly sliced deli corned beef, chopped 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons minced chives 2 tablespoons diced onion 1 teaspoon spicy brown or horseradish mustard 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flours, parsley, garlic powder and salt all at once; stir until a smooth balls forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets or make puffs with a pastry bag. Sprinkle with caraway. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each puff to allow steam to escape; cool. In a large bowl, combine the first eight filling ingredients. Split puffs; add filling. Refrigerate. Yield: 4-1/2 dozen. I make these cheese thumbprints filled with hot pepper jelly, they are pretty popular. I make my own habanero jelly to fill them with, but anything you like could be used, including salsa. I got the recipe from Carol (Readinglady) and she's never given me a bad recipe! Savory Cheddar And Jalapeno Jelly Cookies 8 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) finely grated (use smallest holes on grater box) extra-sharp cheddar cheese 6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup all purpose flour 1/3 cup jalapeno jelly, apple butter, or chopped chutney Place cheese ad butter in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add flour and process until mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes. Position two racks in center and top third of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone pads. Place the jelly in a small plastic bag and force it into one corner. Snip off the corner of the bag to make a small hole. Set bag aside. Using 1 tsp of dough for each, roll the dough into small balls. Place the balls 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Using the end of a wooden spoon or a 1/2-inch wide dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. Pipe the jelly from bag into the indentation. Return to the oven and bake, switching the position of the sheets from top to bottom, halfway through baking, until the tops are lightly browned, about 10 minutes (the cookies will continue to crisp as they cool). Transfer to a wire cake racks and cool completely. Can be prepared 2 days in advance in stored in air tight containers at room temperature. OK, first I use a spoon, not a bag, for the jelly, I made a big mess with that ziplock bag thing. Second I bake them one pan at a time, I don't do the remove/switch thing, it's easier for me to do one pan at a time. Third, this dough is very similar to another one posted here by Weed, so you could wrap it around an olive or pecan, etc., and make a whole difrferent kind of appetizer. I doubt I'd take the time to wrap the dough, I'd probably plunk an olive in the middle of the "cookie" and call it good, LOL. If you don't do something like the puffed sandwiches, Ann T's Gougiere would be lovely, I think. An antipasta plate could be nice and could be entirely assembled ahead of time and I've had Caprese-on-a-stick, which was basically a cherry tomato, a chunk of marinated mozzarella, an olive and a leaf of basil, all skewered for serving. Meatballs would stay hot in a crockpot or small Nesco roaster without any last minute prep at all, as would chicken wings, although those could be messy unless they are boneless. Do you need something sweet, or just savory stuff? Annie

Okay, who's going to try the anchovy? I will. It's too intriguing to pass up. But I think I'll make it a small martini in case OldFixer is putting us on. :-) Sheilajoyce, if you like your DS's cocktail, please find out how he did it! Fran, if your pies turn out a little lopsided, at least they'll taste good. LOL