Making A Party:
A Theme, Invitations, RSVP due date, Guest list, order of events list...
Tables & chairs, name on chairs (optional), sings & banners, welcome instructions...
Video, Photographer, Cameras on the tables...
A Band, D.J. & favorite music, violins etc...
Chefs, bartender, waiters, or buffet... The best food: famous chef Luis Castro: Personal Chef, Catering: (323) 463- 8824 & pachangatothemax2001@yahoo.com Catering with Luis Castro @ tel: 213- 948- 6722 , or Jacopos: Barry or Jose (310) 473-8181 Delicious food & affordable prices.
Center piece, flowers- JP: WhitegateFlowers@aol.com, balloons-Cabrera's balloons: (818) 760 - 6460, candles, decoration, ash trays, candies, nuts...
Linens, napkins, utensils for serving - plates (dinner, appetizer, dessert), knives, folks, spoons, glasses, cups...
Entertainment: Magician- Joel Weisman- (323) 874-3682 , Caricaturer- Ted Jewell (323) 467- 4822, Magnet of photo with your face in another body: Funtastic photos- (818) 879- 9483, clown, dancers, games...
Little presents for kids, & the adults: a bookmark, or a souvenir...
Have a book or a picture of the occasion for the guest to sign, have family & friends speak about the event... Have the order of people who are going to speak about the occasion.
If the guest bring presents, have a table or a place ready for presents.
Menu, appetizers, main, dessert, ice, bar... Drinks, sodas, juices, wines- red & white, champagne, vodka, beer, water, tea, coffee, ice...
Chicken, shrimp, rice, pasta, potatoes, vegetables- sparragus, avocado,corn , salad- spinach, cruttons, pecans, goat chesse, mushroom, bread...
BBQ: Hamburger, veggie burger, ribs, chicken, hot dog, sandwich, pizza, tomatoes, dressings, cheese, chili, cranberry sauce, lettuce, onions, catsup ...
Chips, nachos, crackers, olives, cream chesse, pistachios, carrots, broccoli, cheese,dips, dressings...
Fruits, chocolates, Karin cookies-( 818) 878- 9625, amaretto cake, chocolate cake, sorbet, ice cream, fruits...
Have a person cleaning. Have the bathrooms ready with extra paper, odor spray, towels, soap, trash can...
Have the envelopes ready to pay the expenses & tip.
Have fun...
Etiquette for a Dinner Party:
A Good Host: Once seated at the table, no one should ever have to ask for a refill. Avoid blinding your guests with candles or obstructing their views of each other with large flower arrangements or large centerpieces. Do not use scented candles- they can have an unappetizing effect. Help guests shine in conversation. Stop a bore from droning on. Steer away from topics that might cause arguments or offend someone.
When serving, place food in distinct areas on each plate. If all the courses won't fit on a single plate, make sure you provide an extra small one. Before dessert is served, the table should be completely cleared of all dishes from the previous courses. This includes wine glasses, salt and pepper shakers, and condiments dishes.
A Good Guest: If you have a special diet, let your host know in advance. This is better than leaving food uneaten. As soon as you sit down, place your napkin in your lap. If you need to be excused, put it directly to the left of your dinner plate, not on your chair.
If serving yourself, never pile excessive food on your plate. Avoid overeating. And compliments about food should be subtle, not overblown. Hold your wine glass by the stem, not the rim. Be careful not to leave fingerprints or lip-prints on glassware. If you do, discreetly remove them with your napkin. Don't push your plate away when you're done eating. Let your host or waiter clear your dishes.
Sit in an attitude of attentiveness to your host and other guests, with both feet on the floor, not crossed. And never play with your silverware. Additional Tips from our Viewers Invite an uneven number of people. This way, guests will not pair up on their own conversations and everyone contributes to the conversation.
The composition of a dinner party menu is for many a modern day marathon. Virtually everybody aspires to a fashionable food allergy or intolerance, is losing weight or has recently given up something. Choosing a menu that all will like is extremely difficult. On the plus side, this obsession with health means that the hugely complicated, calorific and expensive multi-course extravaganzas of yesteryear are all but extinct.
The modern day dinner party, unless a hugely elaborate affair, need consist of no more than three or four courses: a first, main, pudding and/or cheese. The accompanying drinks are equally simple: champagne or aperitif, white, red and sometimes a pudding wine, as well as still and sparkling mineral water.
When choosing a menu, it should be balanced. Courses should be alternately light and sustaining, rich and refreshing, strongly flavoured and subtle. Ingredients should be seasonal and of the best quality. Remember, it is much better to serve delicious omelettes made from fresh, free range eggs than a cheap steak of dubious, and possibly dangerous, provenance. Unless you have properly trained domestic help on the night, do not attempt over elaborate menus that require extensive last minute preparations and prolonged absences in the kitchen away from your guests. The same simplicity applies to the presentation of the food, which should be attractive but not pretentious.
For rudeness it is thy potage to sup, Or speak to any, his head in the cup. They knife se be sharp to cut fair thy meat; Thy mouth not too full when thou dost eat; Not smacking thy lips, As commonly do hogs, Nor gnawing the bones, As if were dogs; Such rudeness abhor, Such beastliness fly, At the table behave thy self mannerly . Pick not thy teeth at the table sitting, Nor use at thy meat over much spitting; this rudness of youth is to be abhorred; thyself mannerly behave at the board.