The 4 essentials of a great holiday party

My, how time flies! It’s already holiday season again. Before I can even say, “Happy Thanksgiving!”, it’ll be 2016.But first things first, let’s talk entertaining. I’ve always loved having guests. I held summer barbecues at the apartment pool in college, cooked Thanksgiving for extended family when I was 22, and host dinner parties today. Every Thanksgiving, the hubs and I throw a big leftovers potluck party the Friday after. We ask friends and neighbors to bring a leftover from the day before, we fry some turkeys, and everyone has a good time. There have been dancing atop our coffee table and makeshift food stands turning crêpes hot off the griddle on our balcony (courtesy of Chef Alvin Schultz, who did the latter—I won’t name names regarding the former).Yes, I love hosting, and whether it’s a casual lunch for six or the day-after-Thanksgiving bash for sixty, it’s helpful to keep in mind the four cornerstones of successful entertaining.

The 4 essentials of a great holiday party

1. The FoodPutting food in your guests’s bellies is important. It doesn’t have to be fussy like a multi-course meal. It could just be bar snacks or a cheese board, but there needs to be something satiating available.During the holidays, we see a lot of whole birds and roasts in the oven. Cooking protein in the oven can be tricky: how do you know when the prime rib is done or if the turkey could still use another thirty minutes? The answer comes in the form of a Bluetooth thermometer called the iGrill. The iGrill is the perfect device when cooking with the oven and/or grill because it allows you to set it and leave it, which means you aren’t tied to your appliance and instead can mingle with guests. Use the iDevices app on your iPhone or iPad to monitor your meat’s temperature and timing. Once it goes off, you can then make your way back to your oven or grill and check on your food.The iGrill makes a perfect holiday gift for the avid cook. Use the coupon code HA15 when checking out, and get 15% off. Now you’ve got no excuse not to get one for yourself and one for the beloved cook in your life.2. The DrinksPerhaps even more important are beverages. You can’t have your guests complaining of thirst. It’s nice to get festive with some alcohol, but be sure to provide non-alcoholic options for the non-drinkers. Minimize the number of wasted cups by providing a Sharpie or permanent marker for guests to write their names (or draw pictures, as the creative types may do) on the side.Speaking of waste, a friend got us a wine vacuum pump and set of stoppers as a gift last year, and it’s constantly in use. I used to hesitate opening a new bottle of wine unless everyone made a pact to finish the bottle. There have been countless spoiled wine poured down the drain, but now with the reusable airtight wine stopper, an unfinished bottle goes back into the wine fridge to be preserved for another day. Get these inexpensive wine stoppers and vacuum pump on Amazon for the wine enthusiast. Well, I guess if they were that much of an enthusiast, the bottle would be finished every time.3. The MusicSilence dampens the party mood, and television distracts guests from conversing with each other. Music is a necessity at our gatherings (unless, of course, it’s for the Super Bowl or Oscars party, in which case the TV needs to be on). Music serves as background mood and/or as a dancing prompt.Many Christmases ago, the hubs gifted me a surround sound system for our living room after I’d complained that a 52” TV with HD did nothing for my blind self. Now we play music from the surround sound when we entertain straight from our smart phones. If you have an iPhone, this can be streamlined using the the new Apple TV, or if you have an Android, use the Chromecast.Another option if you’re in a smaller space is a Bluetooth speaker like the Jambox. I have a small one that I tote with me to the pool or when I travel.If you wan to stream the radio or an Amazon playlist, I love the Amazon Echo, which is like an electronic concierge. I’ll go into more details about these electronics (which would also make great holiday gifts) in the upcoming weeks.4. The HospitalityThere are a lot of small details to being a great host. First and foremost, make your guests feel welcome. This could be anything from placing scented candles, soaps, and a selection of eau de toilette in your guest bathroom to setting up your iPad to act as a jukebox to simply offering food and drink as soon as they arrive.What I’ve learned over the years of hosting many parties is, your mood affects the moods of your guests. If you’re fretting over the spilled red wine on the white sofa, your guests will feel terrible and never want to step foot inside your house again. Instead, spray some stain remover on it, assure your guest it’s no big deal, and hand them another glass of wine (maybe white this time?). Accidents are inevitable at house parties, so the best thing to do is just go with the flow. If you’re stressed, your guests will be on edge, and that never makes for a fun and relaxing party.Along the same vein, make a schedule and work backwards from showtime. For Thanksgiving, I make a schedule going back days prior of when I should shop for the groceries and begin prep. And as with many large events, things often run off schedule, and that’s okay, too. Roll with the punches! Pop open a beer, smile, breathe, and have a good time. It’s your party, too.Do you like to entertain? What are some of your tips for great holiday parties? Any funny hosting stories? Do share.