THE COOL CLUB
Starting to plan for an upcoming Christmas party and just not sure where to start? Well, be the hostest with the mostest with this quick guide.
First up, there’s a few questions we’d consider asking yourself such as…
- Where will you hold it?
- How many people can you afford to cater for?
- Will you have any help (partner, friends, rope in the kids!) or will you have to make sure you can do it yourself?
Our checklist below will help you cover the essentials of what you’ll need to think about. Take a look and be prepared for the upcoming festivities.
One thing we would say is to consider the guests you invite! The best parties are with those people who get on. Yes, you might love all your friends, colleagues, family, long lost relations…but put them all in a room together and it could be a different story. Keep it sweet to make your life, and party, easier! People come to parties to have fun, so make sure the people that are there will. And let people know who else is coming, don’t let it be a mystery.
Once you have this sorted and are happy we’d recommend considering the below points…
People remember certain things from a party – if they were hungry, if the bar ran out and if they were cold! Bearing this in mind, consider:
1. Layout & Atmosphere:
How will people arrive? Is there somewhere to leave their coat? Are the decorations up? Lighting welcoming? Make your guests feel at home. It is vital to have music on (more on that to come), so guests feel at ease when they arrive. Have a drinks station nearby so they can get something to loosen them up (people like to hold something to feel comfortable…drink is usually the thing!) and make sure you are ready…guests hate arriving when things aren’t finished, they will feel they should help or leave and come back later on, just don’t do it!
2. Drinks
You may want to keep it simple with wine, Prosecco and beer but if you opt for something more adventurous (highly recommended at this time of year!) then why not try serving The Ice Co Christmas Spritz. You can make the base beforehand and just top it up with Prosecco and soda to serve. Have a jug of the base and lots of glasses ready and encourage people to help themselves. Consider having a drinks station with ice buckets full of Party Ice (to keep bottles cold) and Super Cubes (to serve) and have all the drinks out to make people feel more comfortable at helping themselves rather than diving into the kitchen fridge…people don’t like this!
You may fancy yourself as a bit of a mixologist and want to impress with your cocktail making skills. If this is your scene check out The Ice Co Christmas Cocktails for inspo…tag @theiceco in photos if you make some!
And don’t forget the softies…drinks that is. Have water jugs and a non-alcoholic spirits (why not try a cranberry and sparkling water spritz in a jug with lots of ice and rosemary), there is also this range of The Ice Co’s 0% arty drinks
And, have you thought about making your glasses look fancy and decorative? Here’s some ideas on Pinterest.
3. The Food!
This needs to be FUSS FREE! You want to entertain your guests, not be rushing around the kitchen.
If you fancy something fancier, you can try some of the Christmas Canapes from BBC Good Food, most can be made the day before and either reheated or served cold. Also serve carrot and cucumber sticks with dips and houmous. You also can’t beat lots of bowls of crisps, nuts and olives!
Not a canape fan and want to feed something more warming? You can’t go wrong with a roasted ham! Try this Cola Ham served with jacket potatoes…you can cook both earlier in the day and just keep them warm until ready. Chuck on some frozen peas just before you’re ready to serve and dish up when ready! (this also makes great leftovers the next day)
That’s quite a lot to take in but it shows that for the best parties, planning and checklists are vital! Try referring to these points when planning your upcoming festive party, we hope it’s been of help.
From all at The Ice Co Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
P.S good luck 🙂
