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"Entertaining at home? Our Top Tips!..."

·        Always spend more time with your guests and less time worrying – it would be lovely to feel like a guest at your own party. Why not hire a Party PA? You can tell them what to do without feeling like you’re being too bossy, that’s what they are there for!

·        Planning is the key to a great event along with creativity – if you don’t have time ask a professional for help they’ll arrange an event to suit your budget and will generally agree their fees upfront. Most people who’ve used a planner agree that it’s a small price to pay for all the additional time they allow you to prepare, they can do anything from shop for your event to preparing food and sorting out all the creative details, as well as creating invites, posting them out and sorting the replies – however big or small the event and however much help you need.

·        Plan ahead, you’ll feel more relaxed, and more relaxed = more fun!

·        Don’t worry about clearing up as you go along, before you know it the party will be over before you’ve had time to enjoy it!

Establish a budget…

Some of the elements to consider when establishing a budget are:

·        What sort of event? – A drinks party will usually be less expensive than a sit down dinner; that is unless you choose to drink endless fine wine and champagne all night!

·        The number of people you wish to entertain – you need to consider the space you have available to you and whether, depending upon the event, you would be better to hire a venue

·        Who you wish to invite – are they all young couples or will you be inviting older family members and friends with young kids? This will influence the time of day that you hold the event, lunchtime parties are becoming more popular…

·        …as are brunches – with hectic work and social calendars young professionals are finding that sometimes their only free time is on a Saturday or Sunday morning! This can be a fab time to meet with friends and the taxis are cheaper than at night!

Don’t be afraid to break the rules…

·        Try a BBQ in the middle of winter - everyone loves bonfire night huddled around the roaring flames of a good bonnie – why not kick the fella’s outside to indulge their passion for making fire, and they can cook some nice nibbles while they’re at it!

·        Lunch with the girls or supper with your best friends, a picnic with the kids, afternoon tea with the in-laws, a cocktail party, dinner, a masked ball!

·        Rules are there to be broken… be creative and do whatever suits you and your lifestyle

Invitations

·        Try making them yourself – it’s amazing what you can buy from craft shops these days – go and have a look!

·        If that’s not your style then get someone creative to make them for you – for personalised hand finished invites expect to pay between £2 and £5 per invite, for a black and white 2 sided printed post card expect to pay about £55 per 100 – more if you require design as well

·        Ensure you ask for a reply, most people will RSVP by the given date – and some never will - take this into account when your totting up numbers

·        Remember to tell your neighbours if you plan a late night – maybe ask them along if you think they’ll enjoy it

Create luxury with flowers & lighting...

·        By sourcing seasonal flowers and lots of lush greenery you can achieve great things with a minimal budget.

·        Use a party planner or co-ordinator to get the best prices on stunning displays, they’ll save you money by sourcing a florist to match your style within your budget.

·        One stunning display can make a room seem more ’together’ than it may normally appear, it will focus attention away from the less desirable elements of the room and can really ‘make’ a table setting and you can get a display from as little as £25!

·        Going for a tropical look – you can hire in stunning palms and exotic house plans to create the right backdrop.

·        Candles always give a glowing soft light are great for a party and make people look more beautiful than they already are – so everyone will thank you.

·        Use tea lights and groups of church candles for dramatic effect – but make sure they are positioned safely!

·        Get your Christmas fairy lights out and trim mirrors and windows – or place them in the bottom of a large glass vase; this creates a really effective table decoration.

Not enough furniture?

·        Then hire it in. It’s amazing what you can hire these days from a contemporary glass dining table to a rich oak dresser or luxury leather armchair

·        There are also the party essentials like tables, chairs, fridges – nothing worse than warm beer!

·        You can hire an amazing selection of stage backdrops for grander events as well as props and neon signs – how about a 30’ x 10’ Viennese sunset for a grand masked ball or a full size Cadillac for that 50’s diner revival party?!

·        Don’t use your own unless you’re prepared for little accidents – hire in glasses and table linen for total peace of mind.

… or too much?!

·        Ensure you home is clutter free box up all you knick-knacks and put them out of the way in the garage or spare room

·        If you’re short on space remove some of you furniture and put it into storage – your family heirlooms might benefit from a weekend away too

·        Buy cheap beach mats made from bamboo to cover down carpets and rugs – place them strategically in the most likely areas to fall foul to spillages, like by the drinks or buffet table

Setting tables

·        Invest in a nice white table cloth – you will use it time and again

·        For each dinner party you throw why not buy some cheap cotton material (from around 70p a meter) and dye it to co-ordinate with your theme, sew on some strings of beads or ribbons and you’ve got a very chic table runner – won’t take long and you can use it again

·        Buy cheap glasses, you can pick them up for as little as 10p each and either paint for an opulence or leave plain for a chic minimalist look and use as tea light holders

·        Or why not fill the glasses with your favourite childhood sweeties like bulls’ eyes, rhubarb & custard, pear drops or bon-bons?!

·        Make sure you have the tools for the job – knives and forks, crockery and serving plates, if not hire them in

Music

·        Don’t leave it to chance – someone will monopolise the CD player, find your old carpenters CD and play it until everyone is ready to commit murder, instead pre-record some of your favourite tracks to set the ambiance you’d like for the event

For a dinner party

·        Ensure your menu is simple and can be pre-prepared

·        If you don’t fancy cooking get some caterers in – not as expensive as you may think. They can either use your kitchen to prepare and serve a luscious sit down meal or they can bring in canapés and nibbles ready for you to plate up and hand round

·        Or you could always cheat and send out for a yummy take-away, garnish it with a few appropriate herbs and serve it on your best china! Dispose of the cartons, Et voila; no one will suspect a thing!!

Drinks

·        Ensure all the white wine and beer is chilled – if you need to then hire a fridge for the party

·        Get hold of a big container – I have used a plaster skip in the past, and fill with ice – place pre-chilled beer wine and soft drinks in there and they will keep cool for the duration

·        Pop to your local supermarket and buy a few bags of ice – it lasts longer than the stuff you make yourself for some reason!

·        Buy some lemons and limes and cut into slices and wedges for use in soft drinks, spirits and beer

·        Make some fun vodka jellies in shot glasses – serve when people arrive to get the party started!

·        Remember those who have opted to drive – why not buy a pack of fruit teas and some caffetier coffee – simple to make they will only need to boil a kettle!

·        Provide a pre-mixed non-alcoholic cocktail and a choice of non-alcoholic drinks – elderflower or cranberry presse makes a nice change to the predictable coke and lemonade, or mix it up with an ice cream soda!

Be the host or hostess with the mostess

·        ALWAYS ‘big-up’ your guests they’ll love you for it!

·        Know how to start a conversation – maybe they are your partners friends who you haven’t seen for years, find out something about all your guests before they arrive that way you can introduce them to everyone else

·        People like to be flattered – be prepared to be charming, “Oh, what fantastic shoes” always goes down well with women, try “you’re looking very toned – have you joined a gym?” this would work with a woman or a man – unless it’s clearly evident that he hasn’t been near a gym since leaving school, you could try the ‘nice car/ girlfriend/ shirt’ routine there…

·        Introduce people with interesting or unusual tit bits about them (always positive never derogatory!) “Did you know that Joe used to play pro football for Nottingham Forest as a young man?” “…Kate just ran the London marathon in nothing but a bikini!” “…Zoë takes lap dancing lessons”

·        Get people talking to each other and don’t let yourself be monopolised by one couple who don’t know anyone else, make sure you introduce them to people you think that they’ll like

·        Keep your eyes open for the drunk in the corner who’s boring your quiet polite friend to tears! Make excuses to break up that little one-to-one

·        Beware of inviting strangers or friends-of-friends – try to know something about every guest – no one like an aggressive, offensive drunk! If you know people well enough they’ll have no problem when you tell them that you think they’ve probably had enough!

·        Dress to impress but remember you’ll be on your feet all night and probably doing quite a bit of walking around so those killer heels or brand new Italian leather shoes may not work on this occasion!