Summer Entertaining: How to Plan a Casual Cocktail Party 

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Choose a Theme:

We’re not necessarily advocating that you ask your guests to show up in costume – though that certainly is an option. However, having a theme makes the planning stages of your pre-party prep much easier. Once you have a theme in mind, you can tailor your drink, food, and decoration selections to fit within those parameters. Even if you strive for more of a feeling than an all-out theme – such as “sophisticated” or “laid-back” – it can help to give yourself and your guests a little direction.

Create a Drink Menu:

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a fully stocked bar with multiple liquors and bitters to throw an unforgettable cocktail party. Instead, focus on creating a cocktail menu that fit within your party’s theme while keeping costs down and saving you from having to serve as bartender all night long. Offer three cocktails – one that sweeter, one that is more classic, and one that fits somewhere between the two. To make things even easier, try to select cocktails where the ingredients overlap. As far as the amounts, plan on each of your guests having two cocktails during the first hour of the party and one cocktail during each additional hour.

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Serve Multiple Hor D’oeuvres:

There’s no need to worry about planning a sit-down meal with this one. Simply serve a few hor d’oeuvres, or small finger foods that can be eaten in one or two bites. If your party falls outside of regular meal time hours, offer five or six choices of hor d’oeuvres, preparing two per person. However, if your cocktail party is meant to take the place of a meal, you should have eight to ten distinct bites and make sure there is enough for each person to eat three. Choose recipes that can be prepared in advance and served at room temperature to lighten your workload

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Set the Scene for Mingling:

Luckily, you don’t have to orchestrate much of the entertainment during cocktail parties since most guests will be content to mingle. Just be sure to set up the space ahead of time that will get people talking. Serve the food on a single large buffet table or space the dishes out on multiple smaller ones, leaving an easy-to-access walkway between them. While you don’t need a ton of seating, there should be enough for about 20% of your guests to be seated at the same time. Rather than full place settings and silverware, focus on napkins and smaller cocktail plates and don’t forget to designate a spot for people to dispose of them once they’re done snacking. Add in a few cute decorations, enough lighting, and some soft background music for your party to be a hit.

Image Via: Flora Grubb

Summer entertaining doesn’t get any simpler than a cocktail party. You provide some drinks and a couple snacks while your guests will take care of the rest. Follow these tips to ensure that your next cocktail party will be unforgettable.

Do you have a great cocktail party tip or recipe? Share it with us in the comments below.

Summer Entertaining: Tips for Throwing the Perfect Clam bake  

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Prep the Cooking Area Beforehand:

If you’re taking the traditional route, preparing for a clambake involves gathering stones and seaweed, digging a pit, building a fire, and layering the pit with the seaweed to create a cooking bed for the seafood. It’s a long process that unquestionably needs to be taken care of before the guests arrive. But, even if you are going a more modern direction, you don’t want people to stand around waiting for the party to start. Get your cooking equipment ready so that you can get the food started before anyone becomes too hungry.

 Go Disposable with Dinnerware:

At their essence, clambakes are very casual gatherings. Incorporate this feeling into your party by using disposable dinnerware wherever possible. Lay down newspaper on the tables to hold shells and keep cleanup easy. Use disposable plates and utensils. Carry any side dishes that don’t need to be steamed in takeout containers, which are also great for separating out individualized portions.

 Make it a Potluck:

Odds are that even if most of your food for the occasion can be cooked on the fire, you’ll want a few other bites to round off the meal – cocktails, dessert, a cold salad or two. Plus, any accompaniments like drawn butter or lemon wedges. If you’re going to be in charge of the seafood, make things easier on yourself by making the party potluck-style and asking each of your friends to bring a dish. You’ll end up with a variety of different foods to enjoy while only doing a fraction of the work.

Bring Activities:

The main focus of a clambake should be mingling, so you don’t have to go too crazy deciding which activities to bring. But, it never hurts to be prepared. If you have a speaker set lying around, bring those and use music to set the party atmosphere. When there are kids on the guest list, bring some baseballs to get an impromptu game of catch started. When in doubt, twister is perfect for breaking the ice and very easy to clean up.

Clambakes are the epitome of summer entertaining. There is something so special about enjoying the great weather with family and friends while reveling in seasonal delicacies. But, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be at the beach to enjoy one. By using these tips you can throw a clambake anywhere, even in your own back yard.

For more summer ideas on Stagetecture, click here.