How To Throw A Stylish Cocktail Party

Guests in elegant clothing, soothing background music, indulgent food and superb drinks – these are all the things that spring to mind when you think about a cocktail party. Read on to find out how to get this essential mix of ingredients just right.

Consult your diary

Decide on the time and date of your party. Make it an evening social event as it will be the perfect way for friends to wind down after a day at the office. Cocktail parties are normally held between 6pm and 10pm but if it is in full swing there is no need to cut it off at that time.

Little Black Dress

We all love to dress up but rarely get the opportunity. A sophisticated dress code will help to create the right mood. Make sure you stipulate on your invitations what the dress code is going to be.

Food

An eight course banquet is not required – Hors d’oeurves (canapés) and small portions of food are the order of the day. To match the occasion you will have to look beyond bowls of nuts and offer small quantities of indulgent foods.

Go for caviar on toast, sushi, fresh oysters, strawberries dipped in chocolate etc. About 5 to 10 bites per person would be ideal.

Drinks

Of course the cocktails will be the main attraction. Unless you are a confident mixologist, get an expert in to do it for you. Always make sure you have plenty of ice and suitable glasses; martini in a pint glass won’t really be appropriate. Champagne is always well received either as it is or used in cocktails.

Seating

It is important to provide some seating but don’t go mad. You want people to mix and not sit down in their set social groups. Approximately 1 seat for every 2 guests will be about right.

What else? Well, don’t forget the background music and low lighting. And remember that smiles are contagious so, as the host, smile and relax. This feeling will spread throughout the party.

That’s it, in a nutshell. Go on, have some fun and throw yourself a cocktail party!

The SaVVy Club® – an exclusive social events club always delivering events that are intimate, stylish and memorable, allowing you to quickly meet a whole variety of people whilst exploring London’s finest places and enjoying the best and exclusive events.

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12 Top Tips for your Christmas Party

You may not want to think about it just yet. You are probably in denial that it is only three months away. But one thing is certain – Christmas is lurking just around the corner.

The festive season brings with it a myriad of parties which is great when a pile of invitations appear on your doorstep, but a nightmare when you are the one that has to organise them. Therefore, in association with Penniblack catering, we have come up with 12 top tips to help take the stress out of organising your Christmas party.

1. Start to plan your event in September or October to avoid disappointment. Book your chosen caterer and venue in advance as Christmas is a very busy time for everyone and before you know it your event is right round the corner.

2. If you are making a lovely winter hot pot for your party, ensure to cook it the previous day, as that way all the flavours marinate together, the meat tenderises, and the overall taste is much more powerful.

3. Think about the Christmas colour scheme – reds, greens, golds, silvers, oranges. Complimentary flowers like holly, sprayed ivy, berries. Book your flowers well in advance as the florists often run out of stock on the day. If you are making the food yourself, get some extra sprigs of holly, and Christmassy flowers to garnish your canapé platters.

4. Lighting is very important. I like to use little tea lights around the tables, complimented with red, orange and yellow rose petals. You could also use Church candles of different heights, tied together with Christmassy ribbon and sprigs of holly, as a very effective centre piece or even on a mantle piece. Scented candles are wonderful for achieving a warm welcoming feeling on arrival.

5. For a seated dinner, again it looks lovely if you tie red and green ribbon, along with a sprig of holly, around your napkins.

6. It is nice to offer a welcome drink for your event. A winter punch on arrival is very popular. I suggest Pimms, with warm apple juice, cinnamon and cloves, or alternatively a cool fresh Kir Royale. I like to garnish my virgin cocktails with brightly coloured edible flowers.

7. Always get your alcohol on a sale or return basis, that way you can over order, and be confident you won’t run out of anything. Remember you cannot return open or damaged bottles.

8. Allow for around 3 – 4 glasses per head, when planning your glass hire. Your guests will undoubtedly put their glasses down, forget about them, then grab another full drink

9. If you want to offer your guests a substantial meal but don’t have the capacity to seat them all, or it isn’t in the budget with all the necessary equipment hire costs, then bowl food is a very popular choice. Small rice bowls filled with mini meals, like ‘roast turkey, tiny roast potatoes, sage and onion dumplings and Madeira jus, or little brie cakes with salad and cranberry sauce to name a few. Allow 3 per head, and accompany with 5-6 canapés for the best effect. If you feel the dessert bowls are too filling you could opt for some sweet Christmas canapés like Hot Christmas pudding, with brandy sauce, served on a spoon, or shot glasses filled with hot chocolate fondant and Chantilly cream.

10. I love to wow my guests with a finishing touch of a sprinkle of edible gold on top of my dessert canapés.

11. My perfect venue for Christmas would be an old listed building with open fireplaces, situated somewhere very central to all my guests.

12. Trying to come up with a unique Christmas present for a loved one? A selection of 100 canapés delivered to your home?

Guest blogger: Charlotte Pennicard http://www.penniblack.co.uk

No matter how unusual or special your reason for a party or event, The SaVVy Club® offer a bespoke service that caters to your every need. We can arrange flowers, transport, catering, stationery and music. Simply get in touch to discuss your important occasion and we’ll get to work designing your bespoke event right down to the last detail.

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Top ten tips to learning to live in the moment

In the ongoing struggle to achieve ever more success there is no time just to be… to stop and stare or to smell the roses. Talk to most workaholics and they have little idea how to relax and enjoy the moment. The concept is alien to them and they find it most uncomfortable. They see no reason why anyone would want to do it.

Here are my top ten tips to learning to live in the moment, they are designed to fit in with a busy schedule and are just a starting point, they may appear inconsequential but done regularly they start to have a profound effect.

1) As you wake up each morning spend a couple of minutes breathing deeply. Breathe in deeply to the count of 2, hold it for 4 and breathe out to 4. As you breathe be conscious of exactly how each part of your body is feeling.

2) Tell yourself that you choose to be happy today and that you will find time to enjoy this day to the full. (Once past it is gone forever.)

3) As you take your shower or bath in the morning be conscious of how the water feels on your skin. Feel the temperature of the water and the sensation of the soap or shower gel on your skin. Contrast that with the roughness of the towel or the softness of your robe.

4) During the day stop and take a small amount of time to consciously notice your surroundings. Use each of your senses in turn, what can you smell or hear, look for the colour or texture of things around you. Be aware of how you are feeling. Even five minutes out of your busy day done on a regular basis will make a difference.

5) Smile, and make a conscious decision to make someone you pass in the corridor or lift to smile back. Be aware of how it makes you feel.

6) Create five small random acts of kindness during your day. They could be a simple as letting a fellow driver out of a side turning or helping someone with their bag. Notice how it makes you feel.

7) Do something, which makes you smile or laugh each day. Be conscious of how you feel when you laugh.

8) As you travel to or from work take the opportunity to observe an aspect of nature. Look at the sky – see the cloud formation or look at how the trees are moving with the wind, look at the individual petals of a flower, or watch the raindrops making a pattern on the train window.

9) Set time aside within your busy timetable. Plan your time over a week or fortnightly cycle. Set aside time each week to enjoy simply for now. A quiet time to walk with no other intention than to enjoy it, or time to spend with your significant other.

10) Just before you go to sleep think of five things which you have been grateful for during the day. They can be as small or as significant as you choose.

May be it is time to start living now rather than waiting for your real “life” to begin once you have achieved professional success. The danger is that by the time you are ready to “live” you may be on your own or your health will have suffered in the mean time.

Guest Blogger/Author: Gina Gardiner, Recovering Workaholics, http://www.ginagardiner.com

Gina is a member of The SaVVy Club^®– London’s first boutique social events club

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Top Tips for a Stress Free Dinner Party

Social events can come in many guises – from the extravagant VIP experience at Glyndebourne to the more intimate and personal dinner party. A quiet evening at home entertaining those we hold most near and dear can be one of the most enjoyable entries in our social calendars.

However there is a slight snag with these evenings of sociable conversation – there is no one to do the organising for us. I don’t know about you, but I always thought a stress free dinner party was a mythical entity. It is something that everyone else seems able to achieve, but not me. No matter how prepared I am something always goes wrong sending my stress levels into orbit.

However help is at hand. After a bit of research I have come up with a few pointers that will ensure that the cook enjoys the evening as much as the guests. By following these simple tips you will be able to entertain with confidence and style.

Keep it simple

We all want to be the perfect hostess or host. But is it necessary? If you are stressed your guests will be stressed and that will lead to an evening of tense conversation and everyone leaving at the earliest opportunity.

Keep the dinner party informal. Forget gourmet catering and smart dress codes, if you want relaxed guests go for an informal, comfortable format.

Plan it!

No one can conjure up a dinner party without planning. Prepare as much as you can in advance. Go for soup or a cold starter that can be made earlier in the day (or even the day before), you could do the same with the desert. Don’t forget to plan what you are going to wear and make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get ready.

Eeny, meeny, miny, mo

The guest list; think carefully about how many people you are going to invite. Eight people is manageable, any more than that and your stress levels are likely to go through the roof. Choose people who will compliment each other, this will help the conversation flow and help create a sociable atmosphere.

Fake is good

Many people seem to be under the misconception that having a dinner party means that everything has to be made from scratch. Of course it doesn’t! We all lead busy lives and don’t have the time to spend all day slaving away in the kitchen (even if we wanted to). There is absolutely nothing wrong with using pre-made pastry, sauces, frozen vegetables or even entirely pre-prepared courses. Your guests accepted your invitation because they want to spend time with you! So get out of the kitchen and enjoy their company rather than the cooker’s.

No food mountains please

This is when it is good to remember the old adage ‘it’s the quality that counts not the quantity’. Don’t go overboard on the number of courses – a few well prepared dishes will go down a lot better than a vast array of thrown together ones.

Your guests don’t want to be uncomfortably stuffed by the end of the evening. Go for three well prepared and presented courses. Whatever you do, choose simple dishes. It is very tempting to reach for that new gourmet cookery book you bought in the sales and find the most complicated menu imaginable. Simple dishes with simple flavours made with good ingredients will impress more.

Everyone makes mistakes

Even the best trained chefs in the world have off days. If you have a minor (or major) calamity, don’t panic. If you don’t tell your guests about it, they won’t know. If it’s a mistake that can’t be hidden, laugh it off. I can assure you it will lead to a new strand in the conversation as all manner of dinner party confessions come out of the woodwork. (Remember Bridget Jones’s blue soup?)

Ah, didn’t I tell you?

Your table is set, your guests have arrived. While you lay out the starters your partner is topping up everyone’s glass. After one last quick glance to make sure everything is perfect you call your guests through. As they take their seats and look at the wonderful dish before them you hear a nervous cough followed by ‘Ah, sorry, I forgot to mention. I’m a vegetarian now.’ ARGH!!!

Don’t leave anything to chance. When inviting your guests ask if they have any particular likes, dislikes or allergies it will save a lot of blushes later.

Ta-Daaa

As my old Home Economics teacher always said, it’s all in the presentation. A clean table cloth, your best cutlery and tableware will show your guests that you value their company. Use fresh flowers to enhance the table. Be relaxed about the seating; allow your guests to decide where they want to sit.

Well, there you have it, a few simple points to remember when you plan your next dinner party. Now all you need to do is grab your diary, find a suitable date and invite your friends. Shall we say next Saturday at 8pm? Lovely; looking forward to it.

Sally Ormond
The Editor, www.savvyclub.co.uk

The SaVVy Club – London’s first Boutique Events Club where members experience VIP Social Events unavailable elsewhere.

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