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Drinks
1 Test Your Presidential (Cocktail) Party Knowledge
recipes
2 Come Party With Me: Holiday Happy Hour — Dessert
Come Party With Me
3 Come Party With Me: Secret Santa Soiree
recipes
4 Come Party With Me: Holiday Cocktail — Menu
recipes
5 Come Party With Me: Holiday Happy Hour — Menu
Holiday
6 Come Party With Me: Hanukkah Cocktail — Drinks
party planning
7 December Is Almost Here, and It's Time to Celebrate!
party planning
8 5 Secrets For a Perfect At-Home Cocktail Party
Hosting a cocktail party out of your home is intimate and charming but can sometimes be a source of great stress. The truth is that a little bit of planning and preparation can go a long way. Who wants to spend the party worrying about things like running to get more ice or salvaging burnt hors d'oeuvres? We've got five tips to help you host a smooth soiree. Make sure to have enough ice. The Read more
As soon as the twelfth month of the year rolls around, I start tingling with excitement. I daydream about attending or hosting fancy cocktail parties, where we all dress up in our favorite festive cocktail attire, sip on a few cocktails, and get toasty warm from the inside out, and munch on elegant bites all night. This time of the year certainly evokes a certain celebratory quality, don't you Read more
Guests attending a holiday cocktail party will expect cocktails, but to ensure that the hostess isn't tending bar all night, serve a pitcher drink or punch or set up a small bar and invite friends to pour their own beverage. Here's how you do it: Select an easy drink recipe, like this one for a bourbon and blood orange blast that's featured here. Write out the directions for the cocktail and set Read more
Never underestimate the power of the Christmas cookie! They're the perfect dessert around the holidays because they can be made in advance and are easy to enjoy without a plate and silverware. When hosting a holiday happy hour, offer homemade white chocolate cherry cookies and ask guests to bring chocolate truffles. Or if you have time, whip up a batch of your own. To get the choco-cherry chunk Read more
I think you should stop whatever it is you're doing right now and call up some friends. We're in the middle of Hanukkah, it's almost Christmas, and the Winter solstice is Saturday night. There's no better time to host a holiday happy hour! Invite your loved ones over for some savory bites by the tree. I've got the perfect party menu for you — it covers the meat, cheese, veggie, and seafood Read more
If you've already been to a holiday party this season, you may have come face to face with eggnog, a cookie plate, or lots of fried latkes. It can be hard to resist these delicious treats, especially since the holidays are a time of enjoyment and celebration. While I always try to practice moderation during this decadent time of year, my usually fit friend gives herself a break over the holidays Read more
Not long after he took oath into office, President Barack Obama brought back an important White House tradition: the cocktail party. While his predecessor famously didn't drink, Obama hosted a bipartisan happy hour in late January. However, he's not the first president to encourage friendly drinking and mingling, the cocktail party has long been a celebrated part of life in Washington. Since Read more
When creating a menu for a cocktail party be sure to look for recipes that can be made in advance. You don't want to spend the entire party in your kitchen. Make everything ahead and cook off batches as guests arrive. Choose several grocery store staples like nuts, olives, cheeses, crackers, and salumi to supplement a couple of homemade savory bites. At my party I'll serve Moroccan style chicken Read more
Your boss is throwing a cocktail party on Saturday night at her new house, and you're invited. Eek! It's a straight-up cocktail party — no theme — but you jump at any excuse to dress up. So what do you wear? She's your boss, so nothing too risque: she'll still remember what you had on — or didn't have on — come Monday. I started you off with these Lee Angel Crystal Drop Earrings, Read more
Your boss is throwing a cocktail party on Saturday night at her new house, and you're invited. Eek! It's a straight-up cocktail party — no theme — but you jump at any excuse to dress up. So what do you wear? She's your boss, so nothing too risque: she'll still remember what you had on — or didn't have on — come Monday. I'll start you off with these Lee Angel Crystal Drop Earrings, Read more
