Come Party With Me: Mardi Gras Bash - Music

partysugar — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 06:58:12 -0800

There is less then 36 hours to go until my Mardi Gras party and I believe I have everything basically under control. The invitations were sent and the RSVP texts have been vibrating on my phone all morning (why does everyone wait until the last minute to rsvp???), my house is already set into party mode, the keg will be picked up in the morning, and later today I'll start making sweet and savory appetizers. I hope that everyone comes in the mood to dance and that is why the music is a very important part of this party. The music at an event should never be overlooked (sometimes I get so caught up in the cooking I forget until the last minute!) and if you are not a super DJ, ask a trusted, musically inclined friend to help you. To see what I've compiled on my playlist, read more

I took my own advice and talked to the Sugar Network's in the know resident DJ, BuzzSugar. She recommended I put at least one New Orleans/Mardi Gras inspired mix on the list and pointed me to a compilation called Louisiana Gumbo. There's also an interesting sounding CD on iTunes called Mardi Gras Party. I'll also add all of the songs from BuzzSugar's Mardi gras playlist to my mix for the night. It may be a long night so I'll need a great variety of songs.

As for my dance favorites, the new Madonna (Confessions on A Dance Floor), Justin Timberlake (FutureSex/LoveSounds), Nelly Furtado (Loose), Black Eyed Peas (Elephunk) mixed with older dance classics: Christina Aguilera's Dirty, Beyonce's Crazy In Love, 50 Cent In Da Club, Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head, Britney Spears' Slave, Bon Jovi's Livin on a Prayer, Stone Roses' Fool's Gold, Shakira's Hips Don't Lie and current top 40 hits: Fergie's Fergalicious, Beyonce's Irreplaceable, Gwen's Sweet Escape, KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See, and Rihanna's SOS.

Did I fail to list your favorite dance song? Please tell me about it below!

Come Party With Me: Christmas Caroling

YumSugar — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:05:22 -0800

I know it may be a little old fashioned but I think it's time we bring back Christmas caroling. That's right, you guessed it, let's throw a Christmas caroling party. Invite a group of people over (we all know a few American Idol wannabes) then put on your big coats and head out into the cold to sing for your neighbors. Afterwards invite everyone back in for some hot soup and a hot chocolate bar. Make this party particularly memorable and ask guests to wear their tackiest Christmas sweaters. To make this party your own read more

Invites: To emphasize the tacky sweater concept create mini sweaters for invites. Visit your local Goodwill to scout large, chunky, cheesy sweaters. Cut into pieces and glue onto red or green metallic card stock. Cut the card stock/sweater into mini sweater shapes about 4x5 inches (you want it to fit into a regular sized envelope). The front should look like a mini sweater and on the back you can write in the specifics of the party. Slide into an addressed envelope and send to your guests.

Menu: Keep the menu uncomplicated, serve a crab dip, crackers, and fresh sliced salami while you wait for all the guests to arrive. Leave a creamy tomato soup warming on the stove for after the caroling. Serve mini ham and cheese sandwiches with the soup. Pair chocolate fudge and rice crispy treats with the hot chocolate bar.

Decorations: This is one party where no decorations are necessary. The tacky sweaters are decorations themselves and act as conversation starters. Don't light candles and leave the house to go caroling because, potentially, this could lead to a fire risk. Create a booklet of lyrics to the Christmas songs you plan to sing and give each of your guests one upon their arrival. When you return from caroling ask a friend to light a fire and another to light your candles. Turn on some music and bowl up the soup.

Music: Pump up guests by playing a CD of the Christmas carols you are going to sing at the start of the party. For the after party portion when you return from caroling your friends may be Christmas caroled out so put a few of your latest favs on rotation. My picks: Gwen Stefani's Sweet Escape, Fergie's The Dutchess, and the Killer's Sam's Town.

Drinks: When guests arrive offer them an apple pie shooter to loosen up their inhibitions and put them in the singing spirit. For drinks you can plan a naughty & nice hot chocolate station. Start with a good hot chocolate base (which you can leave on super-low heat, stirring every so often) and leave out a tray of nice: mini-marshmallows, cinnamon sticks, whip cream, dinner mints, etc. and a tray of naughty: grand marnier, kahlua, irish cream, etc. If your guests are not interested in the hot chocolate you can always serve Port, sparkling wines (and juices) or mulled wine.