#cocktail-parties

#cocktail-parties

In the heyday of cocktail parties, it was no secret that guests who went after the munchies could skip dinner. There was always a soft murmur going on, with one half of a couple telling the other half not to expect a meal at home after the party. To avoid excessive lingering, the closing hour not a standard feature of other invitations was, as you note, stated explicitly.

Hosting a cocktail party can be challenging, though. It's up to the host to make sure that everyone's comfortable and having a good time, and it's easy to get wrapped up in the idea that things need to be perfect. They don't. We reached out to a number of entertainment and beverage experts for tips on how to make hosting a cocktail party easier, and they all emphasized keeping things simple and focusing on the guests rather than aiming for perfection.