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So you want to host an entertaining evening party for some of your friends? First you will have to decide how many people you want and whether this is to be a formal or informal evening. If you just invite a few people it will be much more intimate. But if you have a larger group of people the menu will be more complex and the task of hosting will be much greater. Usually in larger groups some people get lost and don't know how to mingle and communicate. Your responsibility as a host will be to help those people mingle and integrate, which is one of the key elements to a successful evening party. If the party is a large one make sure that some of the more quite people have someone they know at the party so they will not feel left out. Also make sure that the guests have something in common so the transition from stranger to being acquaintances will go more smoothly.
Once you know how many friends you would like to invite start thinking about a theme for the evening. You can try to pick a seasonal theme such as spring or harvest, or maybe the event is a celebration of your anniversary or a family birthday. When you know what type of party you have, have some invitations made or make your own with the party theme integrated, and also telling the guests whether the affair is a formal one or not. Include your email, a stamped return envelope and card which states something like "I will be attending the evening party" and the name of the guests on it. That way it will be much easier for them to confirm the evening with you. If you are trying to produce a great party which will be talked about for a long time think about hiring a musician, or if it is a birthday try hiring a clown. Remember the musician will not be that expensive if you look for a while before the party - often the local high-school has amazing talent which would be more then willing to play for a few hours for a much lower rate then a professional musician.
Now that you have picked a theme and have a confirmed number of guests it is time to start planning the type of decorations you would like to have. If the party is based around a spring theme have some bouquets made at the local florist, and echo the colors with streamers. If you just returned from a Hawaiian vacation strategically place the souvenirs around and have a wreath of flowers for each guest, and a small souvenir as their gift at the table.
Of course you need to plan a meal for the evening. If you don't want to do this part yourself there are often good catering services available for reasonable prices. But often one of the large joys of hosting is preparing and planning your own menu. For the appetizers serve something light and colorful, trying to magnify the theme of the party even more. Again if the party is all about spring make some small shish kabobs with all different colors of peppers, mushrooms, and small onions, baste them in herbed olive oil and grill them to perfection. For the Hawaiian type of party serve some ham rolls stuffed with half fresh pineapple wedge and half cheese then fasten them with toothpicks and grilled for a few minutes.
Have a soup ready after that and then serve the main course. Try to serve something that is new to the guests to make the evening even more enjoyable. The Internet can be a great source for recipes if you don't know what to make, and you will find many authentic recipes that would not be published in cookbooks. To start just type in some of the ingredients you would like to serve, such as chicken and recipe. The search engine (such as yahoo.com) will find all the sites you will ever need. For the drinks make a punch, and if you like spike it (but only if you have checked with all guests and they all drink alcohol). You don't have to make the alcohol very strong, but often just a small amount of white wine or kirsch will add so many flavors but won't affect people very much. You should also have a non-alcoholic punch to offer your guests especially if they have to drive after the party. A conscientious host will be responsible and make sure that the guests don't drink too much since many accidents will directly result from too much alcohol consumption. After this time people will want some entertainment. This is the time to bring out the musicians, or take a walk, or watch a newly released movie everyone has been dying to see. After about an hour or two you can serve the desserts. The you can let the guests open their surprise souvenirs or gifts at their place setting to end off an great evening party and give the guests something to remember it and you by.
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