One of my favorite bloggers, Jordan Ferney, from OhHappyDay, had this post up a few months ago which just stayed with me...
While I hardly have any great pictures, considering this was the first one and I was going nuts simply making sure the dinner was cooked by the time everyone reached home, I will go thru the basics of throwing a great house party!
Since we were a small group and we had kids my friend (who was cooking with me) and I kept the menu simple.
We did canapés with an egg and chicken mustard stuffing, lavash with a hung curd schezwan dip (that she made - it was yum!!) , a pepper chicken sausage tossed in onions and barbecue sauce and a platter of cheese and flavoured chicken salamis.
For dinner I whipped up a delicious (if I may say so myself) mushroom sauce with dashes of wine and dollops of cream! We poured this over a chicken breast cooked in the schezwan sauce... random pairing I know, but somehow it just clicked!
We added a creamy mashed potato and a fresh salad on the side of each plate while we plated everyone's plates..
One of the girls got a dessert... a yum nutella chocolate mousse with bananas on a base of biscuits.
Since I had a mad week with the baby and work before this party, I hardly had time for decorations, so i quickly put up a few fairly lights around the shelves behind my TV and around the makeshift bar table.
I put a few candles all around as well and bought a bunch of pretty white flowers because I don't think any thing says fresh and happy like a bunch of flowers! I even opened up my little Russian stacking dolls to give the little girls something to do!
And of course all of the bumling's toys were out for the kids to enjoy.
I think between all the wine and beer and whiskey and great food and conversations it turned out to be a pretty fun evening.
We had one glass breaking that took place,... but hey, whats a party without one glass breaking?!
Now here's for the tips. This post is just the essentials, next time when I throw a more detailed party I'll have more details tips!!
1. Guests:
Call just the amount of people you have space in your house for, or the group thats willing to sit on the floor and chill. Having more guests than chair can be uncomfortable. Also call people who you know will get along. For example, couple with kids go with couples with kids, people from similar career paths or musical interest go with each other... Because if you call contrasting people, you'll be torn all night between them.
2. Planning your menu.
This is important, because food always takes over the night... if its great people will remember it, if it isn't... well people will remember it. So while planning the menu, try sticking to some kind of theme or cuisine, it makes it easier to plan. Also its nice not to shock the guests with chinese starters and a full on Indian meal.
Also make sure your quantities are enough. This takes a few parties to get right. I had a few things left over for mine because I wasn't very sure about my quantities so I just bought and made more.... because more is always better than less!!
3. Decor: Its very important that apart from having a clean house, add some extra touches so your guests feel like you took the effort. It could be anything from fresh flowers, to candles, to setting the dinner table with your best linen and cutlery.
I may not be much of a cook.. but throwing a party almost always seems like a good idea to me!
Jordan basically has this awesome blog where she puts together some of the most colorful and gorgeous DIY parties and projects... Her blog Oh Happy Day is a lifestyle and design blog... and has been my source for inspirations for many years now!
She put up this post about throwing 52 dinner parties this year in Jan, and I've been meaning to start with my dinners as well, however too many trips and work just made me keep postponing.
But here we are with the first party.... and I'm committing to only one a month this year to get things started!
What was really nice about my first party was there were old friends, friends we've known for a few years and new friends!
One of my best friends, who I have known forever and her new beau... a couple with an adorable four year old that we met a few years ago and visit the park with every evening and another couple whose little girl goes to my bumling's school so they're new friends!
While I hardly have any great pictures, considering this was the first one and I was going nuts simply making sure the dinner was cooked by the time everyone reached home, I will go thru the basics of throwing a great house party!
Since we were a small group and we had kids my friend (who was cooking with me) and I kept the menu simple.
We did canapés with an egg and chicken mustard stuffing, lavash with a hung curd schezwan dip (that she made - it was yum!!) , a pepper chicken sausage tossed in onions and barbecue sauce and a platter of cheese and flavoured chicken salamis.
For dinner I whipped up a delicious (if I may say so myself) mushroom sauce with dashes of wine and dollops of cream! We poured this over a chicken breast cooked in the schezwan sauce... random pairing I know, but somehow it just clicked!
We added a creamy mashed potato and a fresh salad on the side of each plate while we plated everyone's plates..
One of the girls got a dessert... a yum nutella chocolate mousse with bananas on a base of biscuits.
Since I had a mad week with the baby and work before this party, I hardly had time for decorations, so i quickly put up a few fairly lights around the shelves behind my TV and around the makeshift bar table.
I put a few candles all around as well and bought a bunch of pretty white flowers because I don't think any thing says fresh and happy like a bunch of flowers! I even opened up my little Russian stacking dolls to give the little girls something to do!
And of course all of the bumling's toys were out for the kids to enjoy.
I think between all the wine and beer and whiskey and great food and conversations it turned out to be a pretty fun evening.
We had one glass breaking that took place,... but hey, whats a party without one glass breaking?!
Now here's for the tips. This post is just the essentials, next time when I throw a more detailed party I'll have more details tips!!
1. Guests:
Call just the amount of people you have space in your house for, or the group thats willing to sit on the floor and chill. Having more guests than chair can be uncomfortable. Also call people who you know will get along. For example, couple with kids go with couples with kids, people from similar career paths or musical interest go with each other... Because if you call contrasting people, you'll be torn all night between them.
2. Planning your menu.
This is important, because food always takes over the night... if its great people will remember it, if it isn't... well people will remember it. So while planning the menu, try sticking to some kind of theme or cuisine, it makes it easier to plan. Also its nice not to shock the guests with chinese starters and a full on Indian meal.
Also make sure your quantities are enough. This takes a few parties to get right. I had a few things left over for mine because I wasn't very sure about my quantities so I just bought and made more.... because more is always better than less!!
3. Decor: Its very important that apart from having a clean house, add some extra touches so your guests feel like you took the effort. It could be anything from fresh flowers, to candles, to setting the dinner table with your best linen and cutlery.
So? Who's joining Jordan and me on this fun party year!!
