An Expert's 60-Minute Entertaining Guide: Simple Entertaining for Unexpected Visitors
In this festive period, while there is so much happening that the most energetic people may occasionally look forward to the calm break in January, it is all too easy to overlook details. I expect I'm not the only one who has once been surprised awake at work because of a message by someone asking, "What time do you want over later?" Fear not; whether you're distracted, and simply likely to make last-minute plans, I've got some solutions.
The Secret to Memorable Parties
Above all, though I cannot stress it sufficiently, if you have organized for months or just a short while, the greatest events are the simplest. What everyone expects is pleasant conversation, something to drink, and sufficient food so they don't feel like chewing something during the bus back. If you're not you are Jay Gatsby, no one anticipates professional bartending, fancy catering or a live band.
The most successful parties are the most basic. However, an idea is useful to mask the reality you have only thrown the event on while coming back from the office.
Picking a Theme to Focus Your Shopping
Nevertheless, an overarching idea is helpful to hide that you have only put the party on while returning after work. And with a theme, I mean for example the holidays. Getting slightly focused (Scandinavian Christmas, say, with mulled wine, aromatic cocktail, cured seafood plus flatbreads, Scandinavian music playlist; alternatively Latin American celebration, with ponche navideño, cold beers and cocktails, and plenty of corn chips, salsa & guacamole, and festive music playing) can narrow your choices during the necessary supermarket sweep.
Practical Shopping to Support Your Gathering
While shopping, select a couple of drinks (one alcoholic for those who do, one not for some prefer not to) and a few snacks that match the theme, then purchase as much of them as possible, rather than worrying about giving people too much choice. No thing looks more welcoming and celebratory as a bounty – I would always rather to enter by a tub full of chilled bottles with reasonably priced sparkling wine than a single glass of expensive bubbly. (Include a few bags of ice, too; there is never plenty of ice.)
Cocktails and Punch Made Easy
If you must show off and offer a cocktail, then mix in advance a sizable amount in a container so that you aren't stuck faffing around with drinks while you should be having fun. Once underway, enlist a significant other or helper to keep an eye on the drinks then refill as necessary till it's gone. Follow suit with the alcohol-free option; guests enjoy to have a task at a party so they can share in some of goodwill.
For large-batch drinks, whichever formula you pick (they abound on the internet), avoid any recipe too sweet – young ones there ought to have separate beverages – and should you own one, put aromatic bitters nearby (refrain from putting any to the bowl as they're inappropriate for individuals who avoid drinks entirely). Put in some work with presentation so the soft punch isn't perceived unimportant; just spend a minute to slice several pieces of lemon or orange for garnish.
Snacks That Shine With Minimal Preparation
For me, I'd skip the store-bought assortments of "party foods" that appear in supermarkets seasonally; they feel overly complicated, and usually require using the oven (if you choose to go this route, remember that everyone secretly prefers toasted bread or cocktail sausages anyway). I'm convinced nothing beats a couple of large bowls of decent chips (simple will offend no one), and, provided there are no allergies, some of those large and economical containers with nuts often sold with global foods at the market, with perhaps a few pitted olives as a garnish (you don't want to find stones in odd places months later).
If, like my mum, you don't consider chips substantial fare, one large piece of quality cheese served simply alongside crackers and some elegantly arranged fruit tends to seem artistic. A platter featuring preserved or ready-to-eat meats or fish displayed there (just one sort, except if you have a large budget), alternatively a handsome ready-made pastry, like those that appear in specialty sections seasonally, is even more satisfying, while you really will succeed with rustic slices of Italian bread, because they don't need buttering.
