Planning a Cocktail Party for Maximum Success
PHILIPPINES Restaurant and Wine Bar:
Date: 3rd October, 2010
A cocktail party is the perfect occasion for EASY entertaining, whether for business, or pleasure.
Since the event should only last for a couple of hours, it’s a great way to achieve MAXIMUM EFFECT with MINIMAL EFFORT! And it’s a great way too for making new friends or boosting your business or career success.
First, the basics:
The first and single most important decision to make when planning a cocktail party is simply: Why am I holding this party, and what sort of party do I want it to be?
- What is the occasion?
- Do I want to make a BIG impression?
- ……or is it purely for PLEASURE?
Once you’ve answered those questions, it will lead you into refining your plans:
Is it to be a formal cocktail party, or an informal cocktail party? That decision determines the dress code, if any.
- How many guests SHOULD I invite?
- How many guests can I AFFORD to invite (taking account of space as well as budget)?
- Conclusion: how many guests I WILL invite.
Now think about WHICH guests? An essential of any successful cocktail party is the right MIX of guests. Different ages, backgrounds and interests. That will guarantee sparkling conversation!
Do I hire Caterers or perhaps a Personal Chef?
That certainly depends on your budget, but also, you have to be REALISTIC! Do you really want to spend the whole evening cooking, serving & cleaning up? Or would you sooner (and perhaps NEED to!) instead, be circulating with your guests, joining in the conversations……and enjoying yourself?
When planning a cocktail party you may also want to consider hiring a Bartender and serving staff. And for a real touch of luxury & sophistication, consider hiring a Butler. He or she will quietly and discreetly “manage” the whole event for you.
Now you can really start having fun with planning the theme, menu, drinks and decorations.
Cocktail Party Theme & Decorations
I prefer to keep any theming to a minimum – let the food and drinks be the centre stage! Elegance is generally the key to success, so dress your room with the best and most beautiful flower arrangements that you can afford. Light the room with candles, decorate side tables with tablecloths and play some gentle cocktail music in the background.
Cocktail Party Menu
Planning a cocktail party menu will largely be determined by your budget, and whether or not you intend to use Caterers. Even on a limited budget, and as long as you have enough time, it’s possible to produce a magnificent yet simple selection of cocktail party food.
Try to have a mix of both hot and cold party nibbles and canapés. Tray them up and attractively garnish, and keep the flow of dishes coming throughout the evening. Remember though that you are not providing “dinner”, so quality is far more important than quantity. On average, you should allow 6 to 8 canapés per person.
How about a Fondue Party? You could have a selection of savoury fondues and perhaps a chocolate fondue for dessert.
If both time AND budget are a little tight, consider buying in a selection of prepared gourmet appetisers and canapés. Professionally produced, these dishes are sure to impress your guests, and they need never know your little secret!
Cocktail Party Drinks
If you are planning a cocktail party around “cocktails”, best advice is to limit the selection to perhaps 3 or 4 drinks only. Supplement that with champagne and/or a choice of red and white wines.
For a 2 hour party, I would allow a generous 1 bottle of wine or champagne per person. Most guests will start the evening with 1 or perhaps 2 cocktails and then move onto wine, champagne or soft drinks.
A few Final Tips for Planning a Cocktail Party
- You don’t HAVE to serve COCKTAILS for a cocktail party! Champagne and/or wine are equally impressive and acceptable.
- Send out your cocktail party invitations 2 to 3 weeks in advance.These days, sending them by email is perfectly acceptable.
- Allow twice as many glasses as you have guests
- Make sure you have PLENTY of ice.
- For maximum sociability, continue to circulate throughout the evening with trays of canapés and drinks.
- Always provide a good selection of non alcoholic drinks, with coffee available towards the end of the evening.
- Keep a telephone number of your local cab company handy for any guests who may have over indulged a little!
There you have it…….planning a cocktail party is so simple……and it leaves you free to ENJOY!
Another glass of champagne or canapé anyone…………?
Are these articles useful for enhancing your wine and dine experience in the Philippines. Do they also help you with travel, leisure, vacation, dining out, nightlife and other leisure activities plans in Philippines? Yats Restaurant hopes to provide you with ample information so you can plan your trips to Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone whether you are travelling from Manila or other Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Malaysia or Korea.
Restaurant reservations in Philippines, planning of menu, selection of wine for dinner and booking a private function and event in Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone can all be handled. Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar has been regarded by many to be the premier restaurant north of Manila Philippines. Its 3000-line award-winning restaurant wine list has kept many wine lovers happy dining in this restaurant in Angeles City Clark Philippines for over a decade.
Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar was built by Hong Kong-based Yats International in 2000 to provide a world-class fine dining restaurant, business meeting facilities and venues for private dinners and functions in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Pampanga Angeles City Clark Philippines was selected for this restaurant because of safety, clean air, absence of traffic and proximity to Manila and Subic.
For comments, inquiries and reservations, email Restaurant@Yats-International.com or call these numbers:
(045) 599-5600 0922-870-5178 0917-520-4401 ask for Ernest or Pedro.
Getting to this fine dining restaurant of Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga Philippines
How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Philippines? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Source: http://www.gourmet-food-revolution.com/planning-a-cocktail-party.html
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