Holiday Hiatus!

Well, with the onset of the holidays it appears I've fallen down on the blog here -- so busy hosting and partying I've not had time to write about hosting and partying. Horrors!

Its been a great season. Moving into the New Year, I have one observation. Having, on one end of the spectrum, wished a coworker I'd just met a Merry Christmas -- and having them pause, then effusively thank me for my words because, as they'd put it, political correctness has all but eliminated it from our lexicon ... and having, on the other end of the spectrum, attended a party where playing music was encouraged, but I was asked not to play any non-secular Christmas songs because last year some of the guests were offended ...

The observation is this: Altogether too long, mainstream Americans have been bowing and scraping to everyone else's culture and beliefs, while being slammed for any evidence of their own. (The whole ridiculous uproar over SeaTac airport's entirely secular Christmas decorations that one year, anyone?) Being aware and sensitive to another's culture is plain common courtesy, and necessary of course -- but folks, its supposed to cut both ways. A guest who shows up at a Christmas party, then complains that they heard Christmas music there, is a ... yeah, insert colorful term of choice here. If Christmas festivities at a Christmas parties upsets them, they could leave ... or better yet, not taint the event with their presence at all. Though ideally, what they should really be doing if they choose to attend is to learn a bit about someone else's culture in a nonjudgemental manner, and have a good time doing so -- is that too much to ask?

'Nuff said. In 2014, I'll be doing a lot more wishing people a "Merry Christmas" and a whole lot less wishing them a sterile, neutered "Happy Holidays". Let's hear it for real holidays, and being tolerant of other points of view!


Dark and Stormy (from Valerie Petersen's "Petersen's Holiday Helper"
2 oz dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal or Cruzan's Blackstrap Navy rum are good here}
2 oz half and half
1 oz ginger syrup

Shake it up with ice, pour into an Old Fashioned Glass.

Invitations - Devising Your Guest List - Rule 4

Rule 4: Consider using new blood to energize old groups.

Sounds contradictory with some of the advice in previous posts, but isn’t really. If the same group of people parties over and over together over a period of time, they are going to get stuck in a rut, and no matter how good the parties are – the social dynamics will stagnate.

The way around this is to mix things up by every so often inviting a few new faces to things – not an entirely different group, as the two groups might just take up separate positions in the house and look at each other funny, but some well-chosen, reasonably social individuals whom you already know from elsewhere and think will mix well with your existing group of friends. Not only are the new people likely to enjoy your event, there is a good chance they will shake up the ‘old guard’ at your parties and help energize things.

One good way to expand a guest list is to encourage old friends to extend the invitation to friends of theirs not known to rest of group – that way, you know the new faces at the party will at least know and get along well with someone there, and if they mix well with the friends that invited them, odds could be better that they’ll also get along with the friends of their friends. As with all such moves, a little luck is involved, but this tactic does shift the odds in favor of a successful introduction.

There are some risks with experimenting with your guest list – no matter how good your judgement, we all occasionally make mistakes about people – but in the long haul, if you host many events for more or less the same group of people, the effect of shaking up your guest list now and again can be the difference between another good but humdrum party, and a party that really cooks.

Invitations - Devising Your Guest List - Rule 3

Rule 3: Use some discretion when mixing groups of friends who don’t know each other well.

Same idea as the mixed office group/friends group scenario mentioned in Rule 1, but without the concern about setting you back professionally -- though, there are a few different wrinkles.

Mixing groups of friends can sometimes work out very well; you just have to be able to gauge the personalities involved and the ‘culture’ of the groups being mixed … and make that judgement call. Depending on personalities and group social dynamics, two very different groups can not only do well together, but may even complement each other – for instance, combining a group of crazy partiers and a more sedate group may result in a party that is neither too laid back, nor so nuts that it trashes your place and you’re cleaning for weeks – and if most everyone enjoys the blend, you have a winner.

Common interests help, of course, as it gives everyone, whether they know each other or not, something to talk about. For instance, inviting a couple of different friend groups you know that share an interest in fine wine, for an evening of dinner and wine-tasting, is likely to be a pleasant and interesting evening for concerned.

But of course, mixing different groups of people can misfire horribly as well – consider the bachelor party where the groom-to-be’s list includes both his old wild college friends and a newer group of super-religious people from his new church. This is a heated team argument, and a stressful evening for the host, just waiting to happen. In this instance the host is pretty much screwed, as the guest list was made by the Guest of Honor himself and you have some obligation to follow their wishes. However, there may be a few ways to mitigate the mess:

Negotiate with groom to have two different parties is one option. Or, if it has to be a single event, perhaps arrange the event in two parts – a more mellow, tasteful early-evening party at your own home, followed by a rowdy night out on the town, complete with a party van and designated driver. If you make the format clear in the invitation, the individuals who have objections to the boozy venue-hopping, but still want to pay their respects to the groom, will probably simply plan to bow out on the second half of the party. If so – problem solved.

If, on the other hand,  you end up with a couple militants who decide to argue with everyone heading  for the party van, instead of graciously bowing out for the rowdy portion of the evening -- if this situation occurs, quickly take the troublemakers aside before the argument escalates too much, and politely but firmly encourage them to depart, if they are truly that uncomfortable.

No matter how it turns out, if you have taken your best shot at showing the guest of honor a good time, the above steps, you at least can rest after the even in the knowledge that you did could to head the trouble off, and aren’t personally responsible when others choose to act poorly. Perversely, over the years we have typically had way more offensive, difficult, and outright unacceptable behavior at parties from those professing to be straight-laced and religious than we have had from the party-hearty crowd -- the latter generally have more social skills, are less pent-up (and therefore less likely to cross the line when they cut loose), and more tolerant of people different from themselves. Who'd have thunk it?

Invitations - Devising Your Guest List ... Rule 2

OK, another hiatus there - something about being taken over by the Halloween season. Now that I have 2 big buffet parties behind me -- my son's Trick-or-Treat party with his friends (and us with their parents) .... and my wife's Dia de los Muertos-themed birthday party -- time for another blog. we were discussing composing guest lists, and here's the next biggie --

Rule 2: When possible, don’t invite people who dislike each other to the same event

Sometimes you may not be able to get around it, but if you have some choice in the matter, inviting people who actively dislike each other is almost always a bad idea. This is very much a judgement call – there are people who don’t really care for each other’s company, and at a large-enough event can easily avoid each other, or get by with polite conversational nothings if they find themselves in the same space – this is probably OK (though at the other end of the spectrum, in an intimate dinner party mixing these two could be quite uncomfortable).

However, if they really do despise each other, putting them together at even a large gathering is often a recipe for trouble, especially if one of more of the individuals in question have a problem behaving like an adult when under pressure. It is a disservice to everyone present – to you as the host, because you’ll be busy enough without having to manage others’ personal problems; to the other guests, who came anticipating getting to relax and have a good time, and will instead experience tension whenever the combatants are in the room, and even to the combatants themselves. They may rightly wonder why you chose to make them so uncomfortable, and confront you directly or leave in a flurry, making for a potentially embarrassing scene.

Broken marriages or long-term relationships are a case-by-case basis. If two of your friends who were married or as good as, then broke up, are on your usual list of invitees, this is a special situation. You cannot invite one and not the other (unless you really want to anger the one not invited), and oftentimes just inviting both can turn out badly, for obvious reasons. On the other hand, if the break-up was friendly and/or the separated couple can both be relied on to behave like adults, there may be no issue inviting both. When in doubt, call them both individually, comment that you are a friend to them both and would like to invite them both, but don’t want to put them in uncomfortable circumstances either. Most reasonable, honest people will appreciate your concern for their feelings – and the warning that they may encounter the other person at your party -- and may even work an arrangement out between themselves without you having to get much more involved.

Invitations - Devising Your Guest List

We've talked a bit about physical inviations versus e-invitations ... but all that is sort of window dressing. By far more important is the question, "Who do I invite?"

Its October, so let's think about it in Ghostbuster terms. Remember the Keymaster - Rick Moranis' character - who threw a party, pre-possession, in his apartment? An incredibly useful example of how NOT to construct a list of guests for a party ... any party. If you don't remember it, its instructive, and the movie is fun in any case. Meanwhile, let's begin:

Rule 1: Be careful of mixing your office friends with outside-or-work friends

Consider this scenario. A hosting couple is considering having a group of work acquaintances, and a group of close, comfortable, and sporadically wild friends over for a big party. The friend group, by the way, has a long-standing invitation to ‘go commando’ (i.e. buck-naked) in the hottub at the hosts’ home, though this, of course, is not mentioned at all in the current invitation.

Question: The two groups above are invited to the same large, well-executed event. The music, décor, party food and drinks are absolutely fabulous … many dozens of margaritas later in the evening, what happens?

I bet you can guess. Needless to say, mixing work friends and outside-of-work friends can often be a recipe for embarrassment and trouble in the workplace that has nothing to do with that picture of you someone posted to Facebook. Unless you know your work companions really, really well, and are certain they will mix well with your regulars – don’t do it, or you could be looking at months of damage control at the office. And even if you are sure it’ll be fine, think it over at least a couple times before making the call! 

Party Blog Redivivus

Greetings! After a month-long hiatus brought on by a succession of computing issues - which ended with me being locked entirely out of my system - I'm back. The last posts in September were on the topic of invitations. I'm not going to dive immediately back into those; its been too long; what we really need now is probably just a drink. 

Something seasonal, perhaps ... looking at the back of a Hiram Walker bottle of spiced pumpkin liqueur I picked up to play around with, they have there, probably inevitably, a Pumpkin-tini recipe that uses so much liqueur relative to the vodka that guarantees it will not only be boring, but gum-achingly sweet into the bargain. Balance, people, balance!

Here's a reformulation that pairs the bright orange color of the liqueur with a float of black vodka for nicely photogenic Halloween tipple.

Halloween Tree

2 oz Sailor Jerry's spiced rum

3/4 oz Hiram Walker's Pumpkin Spice Liqueur

4 dashes Fee Bros. Cranberry Bitters

1/4-1/2 oz Blavod

Shake rum, liqueur, and bitters with ice, strain into cocktail glass. Pour the Blavod carefully over the back of a spoon to float the vodka on top of the drink, and serve immediately.

Invitations Cont'd - more invitation ideas

To pick up from where we left off in the last post, an amazing invitation is a party project where you can really give your creativity full rein. If you’re planning a Gilligan’s Island, castaway-type theme – a ragged scrap of stained paper with your message (aka invitation) sealed in a bottle is again an excellent choice. For fun you could even add a tiny quantity of sand and a few small shells to each bottle for atmosphere – and so a little beach ends up wherever your guests happen to open them, be it the front seat of their car, or living room.

Or, for a secret agent party, what could be better than a large manila envelope stamped TOP SECRET containing an invitation made out to look like a mission assignment? Perhaps the “mission” will be to infiltrate a villains’ soiree held in some evil scientist’s secret lair, aka your home. Secret Decoder ring optional.

If your inclinations are towards something with a bit darker theme, you could make and send out voodoo dolls with your guest’s names on them – as well as the salient details for your event. A memorable, if creepy, way to grab your guests’ attention, that would be the perfect introduction to a New Orleans-themed, October dinner party or a summertime Caribbean-themed blowout involving multiple punchbowls of Zombies! Lord knows we got some entertaining calls after guests actually read the note and concluded that someone wasn't actually gunning for them ...

The final benefit of sending out 3D invitations is this: Many of us have way too much paper in our homes – junk mail, neighborhood flyers, what have you. When your invitation of choice is a real, hand-crafted object, it will not easily be lost in the normal, helter-skelter of your guests’ lives. It will be memorable. It will be exciting. It will stand out!

Below: The text of an online invitation we used as a detailed follow-up to our initial hand-delivered, shock-value voodoo doll invites:

House of Voodoo

Where: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Seattle, WA

When:

August 5: Pig prep night

August 6, 5:00 PM – main event!

August 7 -- recovery

Contact: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Calling all party houngans and mambos, it's time to come on down to the shadowman's hut and get your movementation on for an evening of crazy voodoo antics!

... of course, anything resembling an actual voodoo ceremony would make our chickens nervous; so this party is a mere flight of fancy through the backwaters of Haiti and New Orleans. Our secret midnight rite: To have fun!

Attire: Theme-appropriate costume strongly encouraged, but not required. Costume prizes for the female and male guests who's costume/persona proves most popular, based on the subjective vote of your peers. The host and hostess (Marie Laveau) are not eligible for costume votes.

Entertainment: Vie with other Bokor to gather components for your spells! (Details in a follow-on email) Also, we suggest you work on your wukking and whining, to better grind the night away at our Zombie Jamboree.

Food and Drink:
A Caribbean feast featuring a whole roast pig and some Haitian staples like red beans and rice and plantains. From the Voodoo Bar, a Zombie Apocalypse!

If you would like to contribute to the food, Caribbean appetizers or tropical fruit would be ideal; please contact us to coordinate. Or, if you want to bring something for the bar, please use the attached 'Bring Something' list in this Evite to see what's needed to complete the exotic potions brewing at our magic hut.

If you enjoy grilling and can show up early to help with the pig cookout, please drop us a line - we could really use the help, both the day before and the day of the party -- 2-3 extra sets of hands, minimum, starting early Friday and right on into partytime Saturday.

If during the party you would like to help in the kitchen or with bartending, it would be much appreciated - let us know and we'll work out the details; both are  needed.

The Walking Dead: Zombies are powerful juju, and not to be trifled with ("Come and get it! Its a running buffet!") If you think your brain might be devoured by zombies, please plan on spending the night unless you have a driver who has not been infected with the zombie virus. We have good  accomodations for sleepovers, and the hostess makes a post-party breakfast you won't want to miss.

Young Ones: With open flames, grisly relics, spirits, and crazy Caribbean dancing, this will not be a safe place for kids! Please find alternatives for them.

RSVP: A lot of effort goes into making an event on this scale go smoothly. Please get back to us promptly so we have enough wanga for everyone - and hey, we know where your voodoo doll is.

We look forward to seeing you for a little ... Voodoo!

Invitations Cont'd

Benefits of Physical Invitations

Picking up from last time with a specific example ... 

For instance, say you want a summertime pirate-themed party. Its probably easy enough to find paper invitations for this party theme – as long as you don’t mind them being geared towards kids – and even these will give your guests something they can stick to their refrigerator.

 But what if you hand-draw your own pirate map, with the party details on it? Draft a master copy – as authentic-looking or zany as you like – then take it to a copy place like Kinko’s Copies and have them run off however many you need on parchment-colored paper, one per guest or household, depending on how you’re doing things.

At this point, you already have a party teaser that is several cuts above getting an online invitation, and certainly usable as-is. However, as it is said, “the Devil is in the details” – and so, it turns out, is the Delight. To make your invitation even cooler, you could:

Singe the edges of each map invitation to give it a tattered, ‘olde’ look

Tightly roll it up, seal it with a skull and crossbones sticker, and stick it in an empty, dry bottle (de-labeled rum and scotch bottles look the best for this application)

Pin it with a dagger to each guest’s front door when they’re not home (OK, just kidding … but you get the idea)

Of course, the invitation needs to match the event – you don’t want an Oh-My-God invitation for a Cheeze-Whiz and Boone’s Farm social; that would only serve to build anticipation that would not be fulfilled, and frustrate everyone. However, if you’re planning to pull all the stops out, it is in your best interest if your invitation pulls the stops out as well – so in this case, go for that map-in-a-bottle, seal it with a cork (and if you have candle-making supplies, a final seal of wax over the cork is a nice touch) and hand-deliver or mail each bottle to your guests. They will be blown away, and your upcoming event -- if its up to the promise of your invitation --  will be the talk of your social circle.

Party Invitations

And here we are, a month after our largest party of the year. Still cleaning up? A little. Planning our next shindig? Absolutely. I’m currently working on a) A Halloween party for my son and his friends (at which the adults will be well-served as well, of course), b) Christmas, and c) … next years huge, mid-summer tropical bash!

The bar list is mostly done, the music is underway – arranged as described in my previous blog entries, for a 7+ hour mp3 playlist, to be plugged into a big amp and stadium Peavey’s, and I’m designing the template for the party’s invitation in pencil as I work out the details.

What?!? Hand-drafting a party invitation in this age of electronic, instant invitation gratification? Have I lost my senses?

Invitations that Hum

There are any number of easy online options for issuing party invitations nowadays, such as that offered by services such as Punchbowl.com. While the functionality of such sites does occasionally leave a bit to be desired, they are generally free services, and as such more than adequate for shooting out an impromptu party invitation.  One of their greatest perks is the visibility they provide regarding who’s attending, who’s not, and who has not responded. Another useful utility in many is also letting you suggest what you’d like guests to bring to help out with the event, and then tracking what is being brought when guests respond. You can build saved lists of the people you normally invite to your place, allow or disallow guests to extend the invitation to other people, even build a prototype party soundtrack that guests can suggest songs for --  which is pretty much fluff, but fun.

While their convenience should not be underestimated, online invitations do have their limitations, and we aren’t talking only technical here. Since they are email-based, online invitations are almost as easy as any other email to get lost on someone’s desktop, or to miscarry altogether. And, while they are pretty slick, they also tend to be somewhat generic, and are even more convenient to ignore than they are to send. More on that thorny little topic later.

Benefits of Physical Invitations

The thing is, a physical invitation you can hold in your hand still has a lot of attention-getting power -- perhaps even more so in this digital age, as physical invitations become increasingly rare, save perhaps at weddings. A real invitation represents a greater investment on the host’s part to invite their guests, and as such, has an edge over its electronic counterparts in getting your invitees’ attention and making them feel special to have been invited.

The return you often receive for your investment is extra ‘buzz’. In addition to making your guests feel special, your real invitations are far likelier to build anticipation for your event and get guests talking with each other about the event, if they already know each other. As the event nears, the anticipation increases – producing (hopefully) better turnout and building the party’s energy level even before the party has begun. The greater your investment in your party, the more you benefit from the enhanced return of sending out truly memorable, personal invitations.

As a means to the end of creating buzz, the usual handwritten paper invitations are of course serviceable and appreciated, but they are really only the beginning;  if you really want to heighten your guests’ anticipation of the event, party invitations that are creative or unexpected are what you’re probably looking for.

We’ll get into some specific examples of these next time.

Yours truly, as retro host this July

Miscellaneous Party Arcana

With our biggest party of the year now over, I have a few comments and observations regarding throwing parties in general - little bits of info that, depending on what you are doing, may smooth some ruffles. Random in content, and in no particular order:

• 1 64 oz container tiki torch oil completely fills about 4-5 tiki torches.
• 1 12-pack of TP serves a party of 50-60. Don’t run out, or guests may inadvertently experience the freshness of your Vick’s-impregnated Kleenex when they get desperate.
• 1 80-90 lb pig handily serves a party of 50-60.
• People eat less bean dishes on the buffet line than other starch dishes. Usually multiplying the recipe by 3-4 times is too much, double for a large party (30-40 guests) is usually sufficient unless you plan to personally eat a lot of bean leftovers the week after the party -- and then tie a tether to your ankles and float yourself over your house until you recover.
• Keep appetizer-heavy spreads for small dinner groups of no more than 12 people -- otherwise, unless you have personal staff, assembling all that finger-food is going to drive you crazy. For big parties, go with big dishes, and if guests ask what they can bring, request them to contribute appetizers that arrive ready to serve – so no final prep in kitchen, not even any plating left to do – otherwise it will tie up valuable space in your kitchen while you’re trying to roll out the main course.
• Choose recipes that allow you to make some or all of them in advance. Know your recipes, and know how far in advance of your event you can start them. Push as much food prep as you can off of the actual day of the party, so you can relax at your own event.
• If you don’t have a kitchen staff rivaling Martha Stewart’s, for large events that are not formal, don’t even try to use your own dishes, or you are dooming yourself, your significant other, or some large hearted helper/s to spending most of the party doing dishes. Use disposable plates, utensils, and glasses whenever possible.

Party Lab - Homemade Grenadine

Well, there was a reason I was initially reluctant to dive into the subject of party music … whew.

Anyway, with our large summer party now over and its fallout under analysis, there’ll be a bit more variation in this blog’s content in the not-too-distant future.

For instance, its been ages since we’ve discussed that marvelous social lubricant at any large event, the mixed drink, so let’s take a hiatus from theory and discuss making better drinks.

As a preamble to our summer party, I experimented with recipes for grenadine. Why? Well, finding real grenadine, that isn’t just some artificially flavored and colored corn syrup concoction, can be challenging, and the most readily available grenadine – Rose’s – doesn’t deserve that label (pomegranate people, where’s the pomegranate?!?), and will ruin most any real drink its used in. I’d put it in our hummingbird feeder, but I actually kind of like the hummingbirds in our yard.

Trader Vic’s Grenadine used to be good-tasting, if artificial, but since poor Vic’s estate has decided to save a few dollars by utterly debasing a brand name that for half a century stood for fine-quality comestibles, I’m not much inclined to use it anymore.  Though, in a pinch it will do, which is more than I can say for Trader Vic brand rum these days – just don’t; Vic himself wouldn’t have touched the stuff with the proverbial 10-foot pole, and but would have certainly said something pithy and far less delicate about it than I’m going to here.

That said, there is more choice appearing on the market as late when it comes to grenadine, which is a welcome thing – I’ve tried Stirring’s offering recently, and it was a step up. Also good was the Italian Toschi brand grenadine, though its worth noting that Toschi’s has a pronounced raspberry flavor on the finish that, if you expect your grenadine to be predominantly pomegranate flavored, will come as a surprise, and will noticeably alter the flavor of your beverage – whether for better or worse is a  matter of individual taste.

At any rate, I found three recipes on the web. I also tried the simple measure (I can hardly call it a recipe) of mixing Torani Pomegranate syrup 50/50 with Chateau Pomari pomegranate liqueur, to see what that yielded.

For the web recipes, I first I tried the David Wondrich cold-processed grenadine – again, so simple it barely constitutes a recipe. Containing just sugar and real pomegranate juice, it has a clean, fresh, natural taste, and is certainly worthy of use in any cocktail you happen to be making. Since it is just colored by the juice and lacks Red Dye #40, it is notably less red than its artificial competition, but this is not necessarily a bad aesthetic, and even if you feel the appearance of the drink is wanting, the difference in flavor should more than make up for this.

Cold-Process Grenadine

Take one cup of pomegranate juice, and place it in a jar with one cup of granulated sugar. Seal tightly and shake like hell until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add another ounce or two of sugar and repeat.

Clarke suggests: Adding an ounce of high-proof vodka or grain alcohol as a preservative, and storing in a plastic container in the freezer: “the high volume of sugar keeps it from freezing, you can just tip out a little frigid syrup each time you need it.

http://lupecboston.com/category/david-wondrich/

I add: Incorporating 100-proof vodka (Smirnoff makes one; don't use high-end stuff here) in any grenadine or homemade drink syrup you make is just a good idea, for the same reasons it is here.

The second recipe tried relies on gently heating the pomegranate juice to facilitate dissolving the sugar, then adding a small amount of lemon and orange flower water towards the end to add a little floral interest and depth to the finished product – and again, this yielded worthy results.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup pomegranate juice, no sugar added
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 to 3 drops orange-flower water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat pomegranate juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the surface and a few bubbles have formed around the perimeter of the pan, about 5 minutes. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat.
2. Add sugar and stir until it has dissolved and the liquid is no longer cloudy, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in lemon juice and orange-flower water and let the syrup cool to room temperature, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a container with a tightfitting lid and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/28428-homemade-grenadine

The third recipe was similar to the second, in terms of its heating process and the addition of orange flower water – with the added ingredient of Middle Easter pomegranate molasses. This ingredient can be a bit challenging to find, but its addition really deepened both the flavor and color of the finished product.

Grenadine
2 cups fresh pomegranate juice (approximately two large pomegranates) or POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice
2 cups unbleached sugar
2 oz pomegranate molasses
1 tsp orange blossom water
Heat juice slightly, just enough to allow other ingredients to dissolve easily. Stir in remaining ingredients, allow to cool, and bottle.

http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2009/how-to-make-your-own-grenadine/

Of the three recipes where you start with real pomegranate juice, the third one noted above with the pomegranate molasses is the one we consistently like best, whether it was tasted by itself, in a mixed drink, or in one of our son’s Shirley Temples (and yes, the 10-year old preferred the pomegranate molasses recipe too, interestingly enough).

Regarding the very first one I noted – the 50/50 blend of pomegranate liqueur and Torani pomegranate syrup: It gives you a spendy, very good (and mildly alcoholic) grenadine – and one that’s shelf-stable into the bargain, unlike any of those made from fresh juice - so its worth it particularly if you use grenadine so slowly that the freshmade ones would turn into petri dishes before you made it through your bottle, as this one is quite durable, and without the refrigeration I'd recommend for all the others at that.

And here, for your imbibing pleasure, is a simple, old-time cocktail that makes good use of grenadine:

Jack Rose

2 oz apple brandy (I like Carriage House or Laird’s Bottled in Bond here)

½ oz fresh lime juice

½ oz real grenadine

Shake with ice, strain, into cocktail glass. Depending on your grenadine, you may have to make a tiny adjustment to it in the drink depending on your tastes, and the overall sweet-tart balance. If this experimenting taught us anything, its that grenadines can vary widely in sweetness … and most anything else.

Party Theming 101, Music Part VIII

Finally - on the subject of DJing your own party music sets, I'd be remiss if I didn't include a couple examples, so this post is just that.

As noted somewhere earlier, you really don't want to pound away on a single artist, or even genre, no matter what your party theme. The key is variety, and variety requires a bit more time and thought.

However, the payoff is worth it. Here are two excerpts from themed party music playlists. I've broken up the songs by genre, but of course, were this a real party you'd want to mix them all up -- and, of course, both these lists would be alot longer.


Cross-Genre Tiki party song sampler:

Swing

I’ve Got a Feeling – Lavay

Trapped in a Web of Love – Royal Crown Revue

Mambo Swing –BBVD

I Wanna Be Like You – BBVD

Opihi Man --  Kau’a Crater Brothers

Popular '80's Rock

Island of Lost Soul – Blondie

The Tide is High -- Blondie

Hawaiian Chance – Yello

Isla Bonita – Madonna

Let it Go – Luba

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – The Police

Exotica:

The Natives are Restless Tonight – Don Tiki

Pinkabet – Don Tiki

Casbah Club – The AquaVelvets

Banana Rum – Cabaret Diosa

Surf Rock

Flesh and Soul – The Blue Hawaiians

Trouble Bay – The Blue Hawaiians

Pipeline/Endless Sleep -- The Blue Hawaiians

Nitro – Dick Dale

The Island of Lost Soul-- The Tikitones

Riptide – The Fathoms

Caribbean

Jump in the Line – Harry Belafonte

The Banana Boat Song - Harry Belafonte

Stir it Up – Bob Marley

Cross-Genre Voodoo Halloween song sampler:

Popular '90's Rock

Voodoo – Godsmack

Swing

Man with the Hex – Atomic Fireballs

Trapped in the Web of Love – Royal Crown Revue

Hell – Squirrel Nut Zippers

Blues

Blue Drag – Jazz Vipers

St. James Infirmary Blues – New Orleans Brass

Folk

Zombie Jamboree – Kingston Trio

Popular '80's Rock

Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo

Fear – Siouxsie Sue and the Banshees

World Music

Shadowman – Afrocelt Sound System

Exotica

That Hypnotizing Man – Don Tiki

Funk

The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans – Redbone

Latin Pop

Livin’ la Vida Loca – Ricky Martin

Soundtrack

Rattlebone -- Robbie Robertson

Party Theming 101, Music - Part VII

Perhaps these guidelines seem obvious, but I cannot number the times we’ve witnessed them violated by unfortunate musical choices, or simply by failing to think about what’s being played. I can recall an occasion at our home where dancing came to a screeching halt for 20 minutes because of a single song selection that seemed inspired at the time, but did not work with the rest of the music at all.  Only a temporary break in the party momentum, perhaps, but worth noting – a number of such unfortunate musical choices, even mixed in with otherwise good songs, can still disrupt the energy of a party and effectively kill dancing for the rest of the evening.

When you have listened and re-listened to your mix and fine-tuned it – shifting songs around to improve the flow of the music, moving songs that sound strange when played consecutively into the company of songs that they sound good with, and adding more songs if your playlist doesn’t seem long enough (on the average, if you’re talking modern popular music, that will come to roughly 16 song tracks per hour, but this can vary widely … for instance, if you’re working with 50’s oldies, you’ll need more like 24 tracks per hour, as popular songs back then were usually timed to be able to fit on a single side of a 45 record, a restriction that no longer exists) – you should be ready for party time. Make sure your music device is fully charged, set it to play the songs on the list consecutively from the first song on the list – then plug it in, crank it up, and walk away from it!

Once you have arranged a list of music you like that you think is about the right length (on the average, if you’re talking popular music, that will come to roughly 16 song tracks per hour, but this can vary widely) playtest it, to make sure the playlist plays as long as you want it to, and while listening, check that the songs all flow together well when they are actually played. If you here any song combos that sound awkward as one song transitions to the next, make a note and shift a song or two until it sounds better.

  

You should now be ready for party time. Make sure your music device is fully charged, set it to play the songs on the list consecutively from the first song on the list – then plug it in, crank it up, and walk away from it!

Party Theming 101, Music Part VI

From last time ... if you want to DJ all of your music before the party so you don’t have to mess with song order or the starting and stopping of music sets or CDs during the party, here’s a way to set yourself up:

Once you have all the songs you want, arrange them from the beginning of your playlist all the way to the end. This is a pretty subjective activity –  the order is ultimately based on what you think sounds like a good mix. It is not the intent here to launch into a dissertation on musical theory, but suffice to say that it helps if you buddy up songs based on shared rhythms and musical keys. For example, The Police (from that 80’s party list) used a lot of Caribbean rhythms in their songs, so this band’s songs often pair well with other songs that also use Caribbean rhythms – for instance, in a straight 80’s mix you might want to put the Police song next to Right By Your Side by the Eurhythmics, most anything by UB40, or The Tide is High by Blondie.

On the other hand, if your party mix is a more eclectic, cross-musical-genres mix – that same 80’s rock/Caribbean rhythm Police song (Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, let’s say) may still fit in quite nicely right next to, say, a Calypso or Soca Carnival tune from Trinidad.  In the same cross-genre Caribbean-esqe mix, if you are also planning to add swing music, you could probably also get away with Mambo Swing by  Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or I’ve Got a Feeling by Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers – both danceable swing songs with  a strong Caribbean undertow. Incorporate these, and you’ll have already used 3 musical genres within the space of less than half a dozen songs.  Odds are the tunes in question will play nicely together because they share some stylistic elements, all the while improving the variety of your playlist. At this point, if there are a few couples who like to Swing dance on your list of party guests, you have now just given them something to really cut a rug to besides the Caribbean reggae or 80’s selections some of the other guests are dancing to. Score!

Of course, being your own DJ is not without the occasional musical issue. Say you’re working on party music for a Voodoo-themed Halloween party. You have Voodoo by Godsmack in there – obvious choice, yes? – and the New Orleans jazz number Blue Drag, by the Jazz Vipers. Uhhhh … both great songs that go with your chosen theme well, but chances are they are not going to play nicely together and you’ll have to separate them before someone gets a black eye. There’s not a cut and dried solution that will work for everyone here – maybe inserting the jump blues piece The Man with the Hex by The Atomic Fireballs will work as a foil to the morose intensity of the Godsmack number, while easing your playlist a bit more gently into the skanky Blue Drag – and maybe it won’t. Maybe you’ll need several songs between these two before you are satisfied. Its your party music; you know best how to make it work for you, your event, and your guests.  And, while it will require a little thought, you shouldn’t have to kill too many brain cells to create an exciting musical soundtrack for your main event.

One little side benefit of musical variety: Its another opportunity to save a little money. Unless you’re Caribbean or a serious fan of music from the Caribbean, you probably don’t have much actual Caribbean music in your personal collection. You could either buy enough albums of Caribbean music for your summer party, or instead get one (or two, tops), and then fill in the rest of your party playlist with Caribbean-inspired music from other genres already in your music library, as noted in the above example. With a wide enough base of music in your musical library, you might just be able to combine and recombine your available music to fit several possible party themes, with only minor additions each time to help personalize them a bit.  The less money spent on music, the more you have for getting door prizes, having an ice luge delivered on party day, buying more booze, whatever. More bang for the party buck!

Party Theming 101, Music part 5

There's been a bit of a hiatus here; we were hosting an actual party and have been digging our house out the last several days. So, picking up where I left off with music:

... What to do? Well, you could just dump all of the music in there in any old order, and when party time comes put the list on Shuffle and let it roll. Convenience and a relatively short time investment are the bonuses here, but there are cons as well.

First of all, some of you have doubtless noticed that sometimes Shuffle does not seem all that random, and you get too much of one kind of song or artist playing in close proximity to each other. This varies by device type, of course, but is something you should be aware of. The Shuffle feature entails the music device sorting through a potentially huge amount of memory, and sometimes it simply doesn’t do this as effectively as one might hope. 

Secondly, even if the device’s choices are varied enough, it may occasionally play songs that while great individually sound awkward when played side-by-side – perhaps the rhythms or the musical keys the songs are in are radically different, the songs conflict stylistically, or some less tangible disconnect is present. Essentially, a human judgment issue as to what songs sounds good together.  While its possible to have a music set that is so homogenous that using Shuffle doesn’t really doesn’t make a difference, if you think this might be the case you should run a test-play of all of your music when only you are home first – to make sure that the music is not all so similar that the cumulative effect of the playlist, no matter how good the individual songs are, isn’t a snoozer!

Parties have a certain ebb and flow; for the music to be effective it is useful if it to some extent mirrors the activity level. For instance, for that Secret Agent party theme, the easy-listening Bond theme, You Only Live Twice, might be great as the party is getting started or winding down in the wee hours of the morning. However, no matter how nice a set of pipes Nancy Sinatra has, if this same song Shuffles in after party liftoff has been achieved and your guests are rocking out to the likes of BBC, Die Another Day, and Atom Bomb, there will most likely be a miniature riot on the dance floor.  If you actually want to change the sound and pace of your music at different times of the evening, Shuffle will be your enemy unless you break the different song sets into separate playlists – which is a completely viable solution, but will require you to fiddle with the music a little.

So, if you want to DJ all of your music before the party so you don’t have to mess with song order or the starting and stopping of music sets or CDs during the party, next time we'll cover how to set yourself up.

Party-Theming 101, Music part 4 (cont'd)

So, you now have acquired all of the music you want. It may all be in mp3 format, but odds are its on a mixture of music CD albums and stored on your computer as music files.   What next?

The ultimate goal is to get your party music in a single format, to make it easier to keep the tunes rolling during your event with minimal intervention from you as the host – you’ll have other hostly duties, and probably want some free time to enjoy your own party, so here’s a place where you can use automation to your advantage.

If you don’t have a friend who’s a DJ and willing to run all this for you for the fun of it, there are basically two choices:

1. The lower-tech option here would be to rip the song tracks off of any CDs you have lined up, and make your own compilation CD’s for the party. Create 5 CD’s to between 70-75 minutes of music apiece, drop them in a 5-CD turntable on the stereo, and you won’t have to touch your music during the party for about 6 hours. We have used this technique for anything from retirement parties to school auctions with the music piped over the school’s PA system, and as long as the individual CD’s are thoughtfully compiled, this works perfectly well in creating a good mix.
2. Put your music device (iPod, Zen, etc) to work for you by building a party playlist, if the device’s features will support this.

Regarding the second suggestion above, running party music off of a musical device: First of all, to be effective as a platform for your party music, the music device should have these qualities:

• Be able to be connected to a large stereo system. If you’re considering using your music device for party music, obtain an adaptor cord if you don’t have one already so you can plug your music device into the amplifier of the larger system, and test the connection out before you invest a lot of time arranging music in your device for the event.
• The ability to construct a long Playlist of related songs.
• The battery capability for the device to last or outlast the expected duration of your party.
• Good, or at least decent sound integrity when plugged into the amp of a regular stereo system. Most music devices sound decent when piped through a headset, but not all sound equally wonderful when jacked to a much larger system. After you test your connection, run a bunch of songs as a sound quality check, to make sure your device’s sound scales up well.

 Once you’ve confirmed that your music device is party-capable, its time to be your own playlist DJ!

Party Theming 101, Music Cont'd

...

The 80’s example is an easy slam-dunk for party music. If the party theme you’ve chosen is more challenging musically, it will certainly take you more time to prepare, but can be extremely rewarding. For instance, say you or a friend you’re helping out has their heart set on that Secret Agent costume party mentioned a little earlier – you know, spies in tuxedos, thugs in black turtlenecks and parachute pants, femme fatales, maniacs with metal teeth … yeah. You’re hoping for dancing to happen, and need music. Your first thought for spy music might be a compilation of James Bond soundtracks. Good idea, but the sad fact is that much of the James Bond music, whatever its qualities otherwise, is easy-listening fare, and not well suited to dancing. (One glaring exception: Die Another Day, by Madonna). What to do?

Get out to the library and/or Amazon and obtain the soundtracks for all three Austin Powers movies. Not all of the music is danceable, but plenty is, and if you cherry-pick the danceable tracks from these CD’s you’ll be off to a good start. Next, obtain a copy of The Saint (90’s, Val Kilmer) soundtrack – the thing is pretty much end-to-end danceable (nightclub/electronica vibe), and odds are you can get this one seriously cheap. After this beginning, things get trickier, more down to pulling appropriate songs from a myriad of sources, which is where the extra time comes in. Sit down and make a list of all the songs that you know of that might possibly fit the theme, get ideas from your friends as well if the list doesn’t seem long enough, and go from there.

Which brings us to another music resource: Friends’ album collections. If you’ve invited (or are planning to invite them) to your party, ask politely review and copy tracks from their collections as well. Since they will be guests, they have a vested interest in the music being awesome, and are likely to agree if you have a reputation for returning loaned items in excellent condition. (I’m sure we all know who people don’t … grrrrrrr) The payoff: Friends that feel validated that you respected their musical taste enough to ask them for help, music that has a better than average chance of being well liked by your guests (it came in part from their collections, after all), and that saves you money that might otherwise have been spent buying songs that you didn’t find at the library. Everyone wins!

Party Themeing 101 - Music Cont'd

Picking up from where we left off last time: Music for a party follows the same basic guidelines as given for dinners and light social gatherings, but is usually a bit more difficult to assemble. First of all, you will probably need more of it than you would for a sit-down dinner, as parties normally run far later into the evening. Also, you will probably need to be a bit more discriminating as to what music you include, and where during the course of the evening you play it – unlike in the dinner/cocktail social example, the music is no longer merely an agreeable background element, but a defining element of your event, especially if you are planning dancing as an activity.

An additional consideration you will need to take into account is variety. Even when tightly grafted to your party theme, songs certainly do not have to all be from the same genre, nor is this even desirable. Who do you know who listens to only one kind of music, ever? Not a long list, most likely. And, in a big crowd of people, musical tastes are bound to be diverse. Songs from a mixture of genres not only add interest to your party soundtrack, they can also, if well-chosen for the intended audience, cater to guests’ different musical tastes, giving almost everyone something they really like to listen to at some point during the evening.

So, if you know what kind of music you want for your party, and don’t have much of it on hand, there are a number of options for acquiring it in addition to scoping out the local library’s collection. At this point you are collecting enough music it becomes less likely that all of your needs will be met by a single source.

One of the easiest ways of laying your hands on a large amount of party music is to obtain used CDs online. Unless the album in question has some sort of collector value, used CDs – especially if they’ve been out a few years – are pretty cheap, sometimes even cheaper per song than buying the same album from iTunes or some similar service. This is often especially true of soundtracks. Once the movie has been out a few years, its soundtrack album will have often slipped significantly in price, and be truly inexpensive.

As long as we’re on the topic of soundtracks, their other advantage is that they typically represent a mix of artists, who will normally be contributing songs to the album that they consider strong enough to create interest in their band. Unless you and all your guests are serious fans of a particular group, you’re probably not going to want to listen to them all evening long. With the mix of artists you are likely to encounter on a soundtrack album – or a “Best of”-type compilation (i.e. Best of Surf Rock Guitar, Greatest Hits of the ‘70’s, Best of Acid Jazz 1998-1999 – you get the idea. Heck, you probably have a few of these kicking around already) you will probably not have to acquire a large amount of single-artist albums in order to build a reasonable mix of songs.

Say you want to throw an 80’s-themed dance party. Knowing that the Adam Sandler movie vehicle The Wedding Singer was an 80’s movie featuring a steady stream of 80’s hits as its soundtrack, you check your local library to see if they have it on the shelf … typically the selection of public library is somewhat limited, but if you are able to find and rip even part of the music you need for free, the more money you have later when you go shopping for decorations or booze. If the library doesn’t have the album you’re looking for, try looking it up on Amazon next.  Given that its years old, you may find several copies, all used. You pick the best combination of CD condition, price, and seller reliability, and order away. Voila! You now have a compilation album of 80’s hits, and a good-size chunk of the music for your dance party is will be arriving in a few days. A couple more stings like this (The surreal horror-thriller Donnie Darko would be another go-to soundtrack album if I were assembling an 80's dance party) and you will be ready to dance ‘til you drop!

Party Theming 101: Music

As mentioned earlier, music is one of the most important elements in setting the mood for your party. There are places you can skimp, there are things you can leave to chance – but music should not be one of them.  Music can make a good party great, or suck some of the life out of an otherwise well-executed event. Some of what follows initially is a recap, as we're getting back to a topic previously touched upon, that was not fully explored.

  

Music selection for a party is a personal choice, so the first question to ask yourself is, simply, “What music do I and the people I am inviting really enjoy listening to?”

The next consideration is, as always: “What kind of event is this”?

The answers to these two questions should provide you with most of the information you will need to select your party music– there’s no more point in playing music that no one likes just because it fits your party concept than there is in, for instance, playing Christmas music you normally enjoy at a Halloween party; both (admittedly extreme) situations are party-killers. Instead, the goal should be to present music that is at least a little tuned-in to your event, and that all or most guests present will probably also enjoy, or at least find inoffensive.

Consider two cases. The first is either a dinner party for a few couples, or perhaps a laid-back appetizer and cocktail social for a slightly larger group; the second case a lively house party where dancing, games, and general carrying-on are expected – let’s assume an adult-oriented Halloween costume party for house party example. In both of these cases, well-chosen music will  a) Match the theme of the party, if any, and b) reflect the rhythm that you want to have at your event (Even if you all love AC/DC, you may not want to roll it out for a Sunday night meal with friends, any more than you’d pull Kenny G off the shelf for a raging dance party. Can we say "Mutiny?" ).

  

Music for a dinner or low key apps-and-drinks social is relatively easy. In this case, the primary function of this music is to provide a pleasant level of background sound that does not compete with conversation but will also help fill the silence if there is a period in which no one is talking (like those long silences during the meal when everyone is busy chewing). The music should not be so loud, catchy, or otherwise intrusive that it makes it difficult to talk, or makes people feel like wiggling around in their chairs -- but it should be something most everyone present will find pleasant, or at least unobjectionable.

At a party where a lot of conversation is expected, instrumental music is often good a choice, as lyrics tend to be a little more disruptive when people are speaking to one another (go figure). However, songs sung in a language no one present speaks often works well too – the non-understood lyrics become like just another instrument in the musical composition for the average listener. For instance, at an appetizer-and-drinks party, a compilation of lounge music can be a good choice, as it is often instrumental, sometimes in a foreign language, and normally pretty low-key.

If there is no particular party theme for your dinner or cocktail social, just about any music you like that fits the above criteria will do. If you do have a theme in mind for your occasion and want to accent it with the musical choices, this is still pretty easy – for instance, if you’ve laboriously prepared a lovely French meal, a little French café music playing in the background will be a great touch. If the dinner is Creole, a little New Orleans Brass may be your ticket … or if you’re serving a Russian dinner, perhaps a little Rimsky-Korsakov or Shostakovich (sp?) would provide just the right ambience for your caviar-and-blini, piroshki, and vodka repast. However its executed, it is surprising how the simple addition of a matching “soundtrack” to your event can enhance the dinner experience for everyone present. 

If you do not happen to own any fitting music, and don’t want to spend any additional money for music for single evening’s company meal, there is recourse: Be sure to check out the collection at your local library.  The Putamayo series of recordings is often readily available, and provides a huge variety of reliably good, listenable music from all over the world – French, Italian, Turkish, Asian Lounge, you name it. If you have your sights set on that Italian-American dinner for close family or friends, for instance, you could use the Putamayo Italian Café CD,  Or, if you prefer a Rat Pack, Godfather-esqe vibe for the dinner (Volare!), look for CDs from the Mob Hits series for a spirited addition to the evening’s fun.  For that matter, a compilation of Italian opera themes would be great here too – its hard to go wrong with a little Pavorati when you’re dishing out the pasta.

Pretty simple stuff, inexpensive to execute (or free, if the local library comes through for you here), and a big boost to that special occasion – what’s not to like?

We'll delve into music for that wild drinking party next time.

Theme-Setting 101, Color Use

Faux human remains aside, at least as high on the decorating list should be the liberal use of color. Practically every conventional holiday theme comes with its own specific color palette -- Christmas in the U.S. is red, green, and white, Easter is in pastels (yecccch), St. Patrick’s Day is green, etc. 

Non-holiday parties are similar – selecting appropriate colors is almost always a good idea.

If the party is for someone - like a milestone birthday - the obvious choice is to use the birthday boy or girl’s favorites colors, if they have any ... or black, if its one of those over-the-hill parties. For some reason, black is also popular (at least in the U.S) as a 'pirate' color, especially when combined with red ... just look at any pirate costumes you find in stores or online. So, for an adult pirate-themed party (fun!), black and red  … would be solid, expected choices ... and so on.

For your decorating, color doesn’t just have to be streamers, though those are useful, certainly. More practical are paper napkins, cups, and plates – as long as they need to be at the party (and we strongly recommend they are, to preserve the host’s sanity during cleanup)  they might as well support the party theme too. Its easy to find solid-colored paper plates, cups, and napkins -- and rather than get all the same of one color, we recommend playing mix and match – if you’re having a Halloween party, for instance, get orange plates and plastic silverware, and then black napkins. Colored plates and such do cost a little more, but this can be largely mitigated by ordering from a bulk supplier like Oriental Trading Company or M&N International. And, solid-colored paper plates, cups, and napkins are still cheaper, normally, than springing for printed themed paperware, like plates, etc. with colored pictures of jack-o-lanterns all over them -- and, in my opinion, just as effective. What are your guests going to do with that jack-o-lantern plate, anyway? Put food on it so you can't see the picture, that's what.

When extreme decor attacks!

Theme-Setting 101 ... Dem Bones

I know I said that lights and music are the lynchpins of successful party theming -- and I've covered some lighting, so you're now probably expecting me to discuss music. 

Thing is, music is a huge topic, so for now I'm going to continue discussing decor, as long as I'm on the topic.  -- and, will get to music later. 

So yes ... party lighting is a great idea. A close runner-up for most versatile party decorations, after your lighting, are human skulls, or even full skeletons if you can manage it.

Yes, you read that correctly. Bone decorations (fake, obviously, but realistic is good) work for a surprising number of party themes, and if you plan to throw a number of parties that aren’t, say, Christmas and Easter (a skull is right out as a tree-topper), its great to have them in your party war chest. Consider a few examples:

• Halloween (obvious)
• Mexican Day of the Dead - an artistic, geometric pattern executed from an arrangement of bones on the windowsills - or on a Dia de los Muertos altars with some marigolds and a few beers -- is just the ticket.
• Pirate party – partial or full skeletons dressed in tattered ‘pirate’garb and still clutching weapons, with ersatz coins and gems scattered around. Or just a fake treasure pile with a few skulls mixed in for good measure.
• Tiki party  -- skulls on bamboo poles around your yard!
• Cannibal party – tiki party variation (channeled through Papua New Guinea perhaps?), skulls on poles again or for the big bang, a full-on, charred-looking skeleton on a big grill or spit over a fake fire
• Wild West party – what’s the Old West without Boot Hill? Or, for that matter, a skeleton in tattered western duds hanging from a porch rafter or somesuch out front, to let your guests know where the party is.
• Swords and Sorcery party – similar to the pirate party idea; every self-respecting dungeon needs at least one hero’s skeleton in shattered armor in the corner.
• Cinco de Mayo – a single skull centerpiece, festooned with a sombrero and/or chili lights, and maybe a lifelike plastic scorpion … cheesy? Absolutely, and wouldn't have it any other way.
• Psychadelic 60’s party – full skeleton in Grateful Dead duds, sitting on couch in relaxed pose … OD victim?

 … and so on . If you still don’t believe me, consider Disneyland. Just how many bones are in that park, anyway? It sometimes seems you can scarcely look at an attraction (Tomorrowland excepted) without encountering boneheaps, even avoiding obvious examples like the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted House rides. Bones are great for theming, perfect for getting that extra shudder or laugh from your guests when they encounter them -- thoroughly worthwhile investment. The best deal, if you can find it, is a net bag of styrofoam-over-wire bone selection, often available from outfits like Oriental Trading Company around Halloween.

A Dia de los Muertos Ossuary!

Weekend Break

Well, we talked a bit about lighting ... but now its the weekend, my wife's been hospitalized for a week, and time's at a premium, so will be keeping this one short. There's nothing quite like life being fairly screwed up to remind one why focusing on making some good times is important.

We have a big party in 6 weeks, and the hostess's recovery will take at least that long. What to do? I am reminded of friend's story about 'Stone Soup', where a traveller enters a village where no one household has enough for an adequate meal. By contributing a 'magic stone' to a huge pot, and encouraging each villager he speaks to to contribute what little food they have -- a couple carrots, a turnip, etc. -- they eventually find they have collectively created a big pot of soup that can comfortably feed the whole village.

Same thing with a big house party. There's no freakin' way my wife and I could pull this whole thing off ourselves, so we contribute the 'stone' -- which in this case, is coordination of our good friends' talents and time. The band playing will be composed of friends who are so-gifted ... their matching band shirts will be made by my wife, and a few other friends who can sew. Food for 50-60? A few more friends who enjoy big cookouts and are only too happy to lend a hand with the grilling - not to mention that their BBQ is fantastic!

And so it goes ... volunteer bartenders, friends who will help decorate ... before long, even with my wife out of commission, we'll have a party!

Like I said, this is going to be short. It's the weekend, so I'll leave you with another original drink - still playing with Catdaddy:

An American in Paris

2 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 oz Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Fee Brother's Peach Bitters
1 oz club soda

Shake and strain everything but the soda into a cocktail glass. Add soda, stir well, and serve.


A bit sweeter than I myself personally prefer, but the flavor combination is solid, and the ladies I know like it.

Theme-Setting 101: Lights Further Continued; other lighting options

Of course, sometimes you want to go all out ... here are a few additional ideas for doing just that:

Red Incandescent Bulbs

Of the colored bulbs, probably the most useful to have around. Good for Christmas, good for underlighting skulls stuck on bamboo poles out in your yard, great if you have a bar area or improvised dance floor – red light is very flattering for most skin tones, and the women at your party will love being seen in its warm glow.

Black Lights

If you have a basement or garage area that you want to temporarily convert into a party space, consider replacing your fluorescent shop lights with black lights instead. Don’t fall for the cheap ‘black light’ incandescent bulbs offered at some places; these are just dark purple-colored bulbs, do not emit the characteristic spectrum of black light radiation, and have a tendency to overheat – use fluorescent bulb black lights only. The least expensive option I’ve found for 4-foot black light shop tubes is at Home Depot, at about $15 each. A dance hall jazzed up with black lights is seriously cool!

Note: While black lights in your bathroom for a Halloween party might seem like a good idea, it is best avoided, as urine glows quite brilliantly under black light, and your guests probably have no desire to know the extent to which other guests have missed!

Light Machines

Of course, we know about these – disco balls, those units at nightclubs that shoot gyrating beams of color around the dance floor area, what have you. For the overachiever, these are available, and for a machine sized for the recreation room of the average home, might not be as expensive as you think – depending where you shop. Its worth noting that these units generally do pull more than a little power, so if you use one, be prepared to notice it on your electrical bill. Also, be sure to plug the light machine into a circuit that is not being used for too much else, and test it by turning EVERYTHING you plan to have going at the party on, long before the party starts – better to flip a few breaker switches then than during the middle of your event. Once, after conducting such a test early on, the party had just gotten started and I turned on the blender for the first time to make a pitcher of drinks, and CLICK! -- off went the lights. Frantic rerouting of extension cords ensued; not what you want to be doing while guests are still arriving and food’s coming out of the oven!

At any rate, for turning one's home into a nightclub, we've had pretty good luck with Cheaplights, online. Have added a link for this now to our Party Supply Links.

Nothing says "Yeah, Baby!" quite like a well-placed disco ball.
The finishing touch in this party space was a small, battery-
powered disco ball that cost $25 or less.

Theme-Setting 101: Lights Continued

In the last post we really only discussed lighting basics: 1) Even if you do no other decorating, at least put up some lights, they are your biggest decor bang for the buck, and 2) Even simple lighting efforts can be quite effective – my favorite all-purpose tool are strings of plain white minilights.

However, there is of course so much more you can do with just lights and a couple of props:

For instance, in Post #3 I put a picture of a silhouette decoration – in this case a zombie staggering through a graveyard. A decoration like this effectively covers a good portion of wall (or in our case, a water heater that makes an unsightly addition to a party space), is still cheap to execute, and still uses those string lights.

In our case, we used a Japanese shoji screen we got for $20 bucks at a yard sale, but one could also achieve a similar effect by making a simple wood frame to fit the space you want to fill, and then stretching an old, clean sheet over it and tacking it down so the sheet is taut over the frame.

Then, the real fun begins. Decide what sort of silhouette image you want to project, and with a roll of butcher paper (also cheap), sketch out that image lightly with pencil, as you will most likely need to redraw portions until you get the look you want. In the case of the zombie no real drawing skill was needed; I just had our son pose lying down on the paper and traced around him. For our mermaid, I Googled on the words ‘mermaid’ and ‘silhouette’, and soon had a number of images to work from – with some effort (and a good eraser) I was eventually able to scale one up to almost-life-size on butcher paper, and cut out my pencil drawing.

Once you have your silhouette paper cutout, take it outside or to your shop, and spray-paint one side of it matte black. If you don’t, the image will not be dark enough to cast a good shadow through your screen. In our case, I use a combination of Scotch tape and thumbtacks (use the flat-head kind, thumbtacks with more height will cast shadows of their own behind the screen, and spoil your image) to attach the image to the back of the screen. For attaching an image to a sheet on a simple frame, without the grid of wooden frames provided by a shoji screen, you’ll probably have to go with just the Scotch tape.

Now its time to hang up your lights. In the area behind where you will place your silhouette screen, zigzag light strings back and forth so your screen will be well backlit. Prop the screen up in front of the lights, turn them on, and make adjustments to light placement as necessary to make sure your handiwork shows up well. Done!

An undersea tiki bar.  Note the mermaid silhouette to the right.  Cheap,
but effective camouflage for a water heater and furnace.