Have you ever seen just how fancy and fun cocktail parties can be? Since you’re reading this article, I would assume that you have and you are interested in hosting one yourself. There probably is a very good reason why you would want to host this type of party, so you’ll probably need some help setting up. You want to look as cool as possible, you want it to be fun for your friends, and you want the drinks to be perfect.
However, achieving that level of perfection is not easy. All of those videos and pictures you’ve seen of someone successful cocktail party probably required days or maybe even weeks of previous preparation. You will need to organize everything from the guests, the ceiling, the tables, the glasses, and the drinks. The more details you focus on, the better the outcome will be. You cannot do this kind of thing with half the effort. You have to invest yourself, your time, and some money to ensure that everything will go as expected.
Do not worry, it is not that difficult and with some help, I am sure that you will be able to achieve making a successful cocktail party. Fortunately for you, this article will focus on one of the most useful tips you can know when it comes to organizing this type of event.
1. Create a guest list
What is the single most important thing you need to make any kind of party successful? The answer is the guests. Without the right number of people attending your event and without the right type of people, you won’t be able to achieve the cocktail party of your dreams. Inviting too many guests can get hectic and will ruin the entire experience. Inviting the wrong people may also lead to some kind of problem. Things can get boring if you do not invite enough guests too.
In other words, you will have to make a plan to determine the exact number of guests you need to truly capture the experience of a good cocktail party. Keep things balanced. Ensure the male to female ratio is 1 to 1. Once you perfect this step of the process, I am sure that everyone will have a great time, regardless of how you handle the other parts of the event.
2. Guest invitations
You went through the most difficult step of this process and now you have an impressive guest list. Obviously, your next step would be to invite all of these people that you have on your list.
Keep in mind, you must do this on time. If you want everyone to show up at your party, you have to ensure that you will deliver your invitations at least two or three weeks ahead of time. I know, it seems kind of ridiculous to send them that early, but it will be worth it, trust me.
I do have to mention that you should probably have a couple of “Plan B” guests if some of your other friends decide to cancel at the last moment. You will not want the male to female ratio to be ruined right before the event.
3. The drinks
Now comes the second most important part of any kind of event. There is no party without alcohol. I mean, of course, sometimes you may be at a party and can drink alcohol, but still have fun, but the experience is always better when you have a drink in hand and you feel a bit woozy.
Since we are talking about a cocktail party, you have to ensure that every single drink you offer is both tasty and alcoholic enough. People want to enjoy their drinking and they also want to get drunk. At least that is what most of the guests will want.
However, if you truly want to serve the best possible cocktails, you will have to invest a bit more money and some of your time to ensure that every single drink will be made with the right dosage. Going for cheap alcohol is also not a good idea. Cheap alcohol does not make for good cocktails and most people will notice that. If you are having trouble finding a good tequila, I would recommend Don Julio 1942 because I personally love it and it is also rated quite well on zogby.com.
For risky, you cannot go wrong with Jack Daniels or Johnny Walker. Either of those will be good enough for any kind of mixing.
4. Food and snacks
Like I already said, most of your guests are coming to your event to have fun, mingle with friends, and to enjoy these beautiful drinks that you are offering. However, we are only human and are organism cannot survive on just alcohol. A good host will always offer enough food and snacks that will last throughout the entire night.
Never make the mistake of running out of food because that can be a huge disappointment. In fact, alcohol does make you hungry, so most guests will probably want a snack or two.
Don’t worry, you won’t have to go all out on food and snacks. The easiest way to keep people fed during this type of night is with pizza, pretzels, chips, and other similar snacks/foods.
5. Music
Most people would say that the life of the party is the drinks and music. You cannot host any kind of event without a good playlist running in the background. However, you can just slap on any playlist on YouTube you found and expect that people will enjoy it. Creating the perfect playlist requires a bit more precision and experience.
If you truly would do not want to bother about the music during this event, maybe you should just hire a DJ and be done with it. DJs are experienced and can easily set the mood by reading the room.
As you can see, hosting a cocktail party isn’t as scary as it seems once you know all of the useful tips and tricks to ensure that it will be successful. Don’t forget, the most important step is just to have fun.
