Party – All In The Invite

Getting Started

(1 month ahead for a formal party; 2 weeks ahead for a casual gathering)

__Decide on the date, place, and style of party.

__Make up the guest list.

__Plan the menu.

__For formal parties, mail invitations. For casual parties, mail invitations or telephone your guests to invite them.

__Decide what table settings, decorations, centerpieces, and music you’ll use.

__Make arrangements for any items you’ll need to rent or borrow.

Preliminary Preparations

(1 to 2 weeks ahead)

__Telephone any guests who have not responded to your invitations so you can get a definite guest count.

__Do preliminary housecleaning, especially any time-consuming tasks. Make sure all appliances that you’ll be using work. If you’re grilling, don’t forget to buy charcoal or fill the gas canister.

__Compile your grocery-shopping list. Check on items such as matches, candles, and liquor, and

add the things you’ll need to your shopping list. Don’t forget ice.

__Check that table linens are clean and ready to go. Decide on tableware and serving pieces.

__Order any special flowers, meats, seafood, or other ingredients you’ll need.

__If you’re making decorations or centerpieces yourself, now’s the time to get started.

__If possible, make some foods ahead and freeze them.

Gearing Up

(2 to 3 days ahead)

__Shop for everything but the most perishable items.

__After you return from shopping, recheck your recipes to make sure you have everything you need.

__Plan your timetable for cooking the foods.

__If possible, make non-perishable items, such as snack mixes, ahead.

Down to the Nitty Gritty

(1 day ahead)

__Shop for perishable and last-minute items.

__Reclean the house as necessary.

__Decorate for the party. Prepare an area for coats and umbrellas.

__If possible, arrange and set your table(s) and serving areas.

__Prepare as many recipes and ingredients as possible. For example, chop vegetables you’ll cook as part of a recipe. Some chores, however, such as cleaning salad greens, should wait until party day.

__Thaw frozen items. If the items are perishable, thaw them in the refrigerator.

Let’s Party

(Party Day)

__Go over the house again for a final cleaning check. If necessary, move furniture.

__Prepare the foods according to your timetable so everything will finish when needed. (Wash dishes as you go along to save cleanup time later. Don’t forget to run the dishwasher, so it’ll be empty and ready for party dishes.)

__Make sure all foods and beverages to be served cold will be well chilled by party time.

Last-Minute Details

(1 hour ahead)

__Put all the finishing touches on the meal and tables.

__Clear a spot for placing used dishes as guests finish with them, and provide an easily accessible place for garbage.

__Set out cheese and non-perishable appetizers or snacks, if using.

As the Doorbell Rings

(5 to 15 minutes ahead)

__Open wine, if serving. Set out remaining appetizers and snacks, if using.

__Light candles and turn on music, if using.

Primer for Buying Wine

An easy manual for making one part of your own special day forgettable

No, we’re not encouraging you to serve cheap tasting wine to your guests. We’re providing you with an easy guide that will make selecting your wines an easy task. One you can quickly check off from your to-do list. So relax, pour a glass of wine and browse through these tips for a successful celebration. Make your choices and forget about it!

Where Do I Begin?

Start out planning to stock one white and one red, plus a sparkling for the toast.

How Much Should I Plan to Buy?

Typically, the rule is two glasses of wine per person one glass of sparkling wine for the toast and additionally a glass of wine per hour after the first three hours.

Generally servings of sparkling wine are less than when serving red or white wine. You can plan on getting 8 glasses from sparkling wine and typically six glasses from a bottle of red or white wine.

How Do I Calculate What I’ll Need?

Let’s use a round number. {It’s easier that way} Round your number up or down accordingly. We’ll go with 20 guests.

Remember you can expect to get 8 glasses from a bottle of sparkling wine and 6 from the table wine.

Let’s start with sparkling wine used for the toast:

20 guests x 1 glass per person = 20 glasses/8 glasses per bottle = 3 bottles

Now let’s calculate the table wine:

20 guests x 2 glasses per person = 40 glasses/6 glasses per bottle = 7 bottles

Plan to purchase 3 bottles of sparkling, 7 red and 7 white bottles of wine.

Do Your Friends Like to Drink?

You’ll need to take this into consideration. The younger the crowd the more alcohol is consumed. If this is the case consider bumping up the minimum:

Sparkling wine:
(20 people x 2 glasses per person = 40 glasses/8 glasses per bottle = 5 bottles)

Table wine
(20 people x 3 glasses per person = 60 glasses/6 glasses per bottle = 10 bottles)

Using this revised formula plan to purchase 5 bottles of sparkling, 10 red and 10 white bottles of wine.

But What About The Other Alcohol?

An open bar is important in factoring how much wine you’ll need for your party. That earlier figure could very well drop by more than half. On the other hand, if you’re only serving beer, wine and champagne and you have bunch of drinkers, that figure could increase by 25% to 50%.

How Do I Account for the Open Bar?

For an open bar you might want to include .75 glasses per hour as the consumption rate. If you’re party will last longer than the initially calculated three hours consider this as well. Let’s bump up the party duration to five hours. You’ll need an extra 5 bottles added to the total calculated above. This would bring your total to 10 bottles of table wine.

Your formula would look like this:

(20 people x 2 extra hours x .75 glasses per person = 30 glasses/ 6 glasses per bottle = 5 extra bottles)

If you’re not having an open bar but serving a thirsty crowd consider using 1.25 glasses per hour as your consumption rate. You’ll need an extra eight bottles added to the total calculated. This would bring your total to eighteen bottles of table wine.

Your formula would look like this:

(20 people x 2 extra hours x 1.25 glasses per person = 50 glasses/ 6 glasses per bottle = 8 extra bottles)

Remember, all you need to figure out how much wine to buy is a basic math formula and calculated guesses.

Tag: Party

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