Party time: tips for your next wine and cheese or any hosting gig

The best parties are the ones thrown for no other reason than to bring people together and have some good ol’ fashioned fun. That’s precisely why my dear friend Pam and I decided to host a wine and cheese soirée for our closest comrades last month. I relish being a hostess -- quite possibly because I’m a control freak, but mainly because seeing people eating, drinking, and laughing, and knowing I played a small role in that -- warms the cockles of my heart. Is that weird? Party planning, however, can be a simple feat or a large burden depending on how you go about it, which is why I’m sharing some of my tips. While they’re wine and cheese oriented, many can be applied to various types of parties. Happy hosting!

1. Don’t make it too cheesy -- i.e., don’t buy too many types of cheese. Four is the winning number, and I suggest opting for one goat, one sheep, one cow, and a last option of your choice. The more diverse the better, so try to include cheeses of varying firmness. Unsure where to begin? That's what cheesemongers are for; I got some great advice from a lovely lady at Bedford Cheese Shop. Tip: blue cheese wasn’t a success at my party.
   
   
2. Cut the cheese. Okay, that sounded differently in my head. What I mean is people tend to be lazy -- and messy, therefore if you can assemble the cheese and the rest of the food into bite size pieces beforehand -- your guests -- and furniture will thank you. Just think, the easier it is for your guests to access the food, the more they’ll eat and the less leftovers you’ll be stuck with the following day.
   
   
3. Location, location, location. Spread out the food throughout your home (do your best to get creative if your space is small), so the mountain can come to Muhammad. Remember what I said about guests generally being lazy and trying to avoid having leftovers? Right.
   
   

   

    Putting goodies in several bowls and spreading them out allowed for easier grabbing -- a key ingredient for a good party. 

   
   
4. Health comes first. As much as people love cheese, there’s only so much they can consume (some might beg to differ), thus it’s best to offset all that dairy with lighter options. Fruits (I served grapes, berries and cut pineapple) and vegetables served with tzatziki and hummus were major hits.
   
   
5. A little goes a long (enough) way. Our friends (god bless their souls) couldn’t stop praising details such as the labels accompanying the cheeses describing the type of cheese and its country of origin. We also got compliments a plenty on offering apricot jam to pair with the cheese, as well as on our vast array of cracker options (from healthy to not so healthy).
   
   

   

   Guests loved the vast selection of crackers and the labels indicating the type of cheese and where it's from. We nearly ran out of healthy options like hummus, vegetables and fruit. 

   
   
6. Don’t forget the “mix” in party mix. Keep the playlist varied; alternate between artists, genres and degrees of intensity throughout the evening.
   
   
7. Give two weeks notice and a reminder the day of. We invited friends via Facebook event two weeks in advance; people are busy today and don’t appreciate last minute invites. Also, the day of the party, I posted a message on the Facebook page telling guests to come hungry. When I later told someone I was impressed by how quickly the food supply was dwindling, they responded: “well you told us to come hungry!” This taught me a valuable lesson: people (mainly women) like to know what they’re in for so they can prepare -- a.k.a., eat a lighter lunch.
   
   
8. Buy what you like. This way, if you’re stuck with leftovers, your stomach and wallet will still be your friends.
   
   
9. Make connections. Sometimes at a party, particularly when the invitees are from two different friend groups, people need a little help connecting. As host, try to make introductions and find common ground between guests to get the conversation flowing. It’s definitely a skill and will serve you well at parties -- and in life. Ever heard of networking?
   
   
10. Have fun. Don’t let worries of dessert potentially running out get in the way of you enjoying yourself with people you like -- the reason for the event in the first place.

Bonus tip: keep the liquor (ideally a mix of wine, beer and one type of hard alcohol) in the kitchen to avoid a mess.