Cocktails are the perfect answer when your party planning goals are interesting people and conversation, socializing, good food and drink. Smart cocktail planning can accomplish all of this with good planning and a little effort.
Some of the fundamental secrets for planning a great cocktail are:
- Invite interesting people who like to mingle and chat.
- Organize your food and drink so people need and want to move.
- Plan 6-8 very tasty canapés, but easy to eat.
- Engage your guests in the party and with other guests through a fun icebreaker.
Guests are the key ingredient
Cocktails are the ideal way to introduce new people to a group of people. However, choosing the right guests is essential. If you want to introduce an out-of-town friend, your boss, an important client, or even your new crush to the people you want them to meet, consider these points:
- Invite people who like to talk and have something interesting to say.
- Do not invite people who tend to incite unnecessarily heated discussions or debates.
- Let your guests know a little about your special guest ahead of time.
- If it’s important for your special guest to meet and mingle with specific people, let them know and make sure they introduce each other.
- Keep an eye on your special guest throughout the night.
- Consider asking a close and trusted friend to be a “shadow” for your special guest. If they end up alone or with an empty glass, they can help.
- Send invitations at least three weeks in advance, if possible, and get commitments from people who will attend. This may take a few phone calls. But… it’s critical to your cocktail planning process, and more importantly, to the mix-and-mix factor so important to a great cocktail.
- You want to invite enough people so that your house feels full, but not crowded.
Mix and Blend Logistics
Excellent cocktail planning allows and encourages guests to move around and meet new people. Strategically organizing food and drink can help with this. Place your food and drinks around the party area so they’re easy to get to and require people to look for the treats you’ve prepared…and other people.
Wine and wine glasses can be placed on a sideboard. Punch or a specialty drink can be served at a dining table or side buffet. Sodas, ice, spirits and garnishes should be near the kitchen. Make sure you have plenty of beverage napkins wherever you have food or drinks too.
Place small dishes of nuts and candy around the house. Use your cocktail table for two of your canapés. Put the other sofas in places where you want your guests to roam: a side table in the living room, the dining table, on a porch, by the pool or on the balcony. If you have a kitchen hallway or open counter between the kitchen and the living room, that’s ideal for a hot sofa that will need replenishment.
A logistical plan like this will keep the party and attendees moving and mingling. Another tip to save your furniture and make it easy for your guests is to place coasters throughout the house. They make it easy to put down a glass and grab a tasty bite.
If you plan to hire help, first get a bartender. You will need one for every 50 guests. If you choose to have servers as well, have them remove dirty napkins, plates from the couch (if you use them), and empty glasses. If your house or apartment is going to be very crowded with all your guests, consider having servers pass the couches. However, this will reduce mixing and blending.
Tasty canapés are a hit
6-8 really special canapes are better than a table full of chips, dips and unwieldy snacks. Choose a variety of ingredients and make sure they can be held in one hand and eaten in one or two bites. Serve some hot and some cold. Plan 10-12 canapes per guest. Here are some suggestions:
hot canapes
- Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Teriyaki Sherry Marinade
- Ramaki – roasted bacon wrapped chicken livers and water chestnuts
- Toasted Brie Bites on crackers and topped with a dollop of preserves
- Mini skewers with a piece of chicken and a piece of pineapple
- Crab dip in mini cream puffs
- Cheddar spread on toast topped with mango chutney and crispy bacon bits grilled until cheese is warm and a bit bubbly
- Mini quiche or savory tarts
- Grilled Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
- Garlic mashed potatoes topped with parmesan and toasted hazelnuts served in individual spoons.
cold canapes
- Cold Shrimp Cocktail with Spicy Horseradish Mayonnaise Sauce
- Savory Egg, Salmon, Chicken, Lobster and Shrimp Salad Sandwiches
- Fresh fruit skewers on bamboo sticks – no more than three small pieces of colored fruit on each.
- Deviled eggs topped with baby shrimp
- Peanut Butter on Crackers topped with Dill Sauce
- Boiled and cold half red potatoes topped with sour cream, caviar and a light splash of good vodka. (Be sure to cook the potatoes in salted water)
- Pickles, olives and pickled vegetables (green beans, cauliflower, asparagus tips, mushrooms)
- Sushi
- Gazpacho shots topped with a piece of crab meat
The food ideas are endless. Just remember that they should be able to be eaten with one hand and in 1 or 2 bites and your guests will devour them!
A fun and not too cheesy icebreaker
Write an interesting fact about each of your guests on a self-adhesive sticker. Leave the back on the sticker, and as each guest arrives, give them a sticker with a fact about someone else. Ask each guest to find during the party who the decal belongs to. Once they find the person the tag describes, they should hand over the tag so he or she can place it where others can see it.
This gives each guest a reason to seek out people they might not know, to mix and mingle, and once a sticker is displayed on a guest, it gives everyone something to talk about with that person when they meet them.
Here are some ideas about the kinds of interesting facts that will spark conversation:
- I just got back from a trip to China.
- Won a sporting event recently
- has a new baby
- I just changed jobs
- moves to a new city
- Write a book and publish it.
- He is a professional singer/dancer/musician.
- ran a marathon in the last year
- has an old car
- I love live concerts
- Collect coins/stamps/recipes
These are all somewhat gender-neutral and “safe” topics to discuss with a new acquaintance. The idea is to give two people who may not know each other something interesting to talk about and have fun with.
Try some of these ideas and you will achieve your cocktail planning goals. You and your guests will have a fun and unforgettable evening to remember. They may also have a new friend or two!