This past weekend has passed in one huge blur and I cannot quite believe it is already Tuesday afternoon. I have that dazed almost out-of-body feeling that is a combination of extreme fatigue, late nights, big highs and mucho adrenalin. In a word my daughter's 21st party was a success; the months of planning every last detail paid off. Every minute was fun filled and fab and although I am relieved that we all survived (no major accidents or disasters that I know of anyway) I am quietly disappointed that the weekend is over because I do love a party - I love to plan a party, I love to host a party and I also quite like to party.
Planning this party got me to thinking about what makes for a great party. Other than good preparation (and lots of alcohol) I think it is all about the hosting. If the hosts are of generous spirit and are happy to open their homes and hearts then a party, a dinner, a lunch or any occasion cannot help but be a super success. To give a party you have to want to - I know this sounds elementary but if you think back to some of your best times, don't you think it all comes down to the hosts? It doesn't matter how glamorous or glitzy the event if the hosts are not genuinely welcoming then the event won't fly. Guests sense the mood and for a party to work it's all about the mood.
Hosting comes naturally to some. A great host makes everything appear effortless and we all know entertaining is anything but easy. I have the swollen ankles and black circles under the eyes to prove this. Successful entertaining requires rigid devotion; a zillion lists, a brain that forgets nothing and that can concentrate on a million small details - oftentimes all at once. A great host makes it all happen behind the scenes and at the same time he/she is the life of the party front of house. When guests arrive beautifully coiffed, sparkly eyed and frocked-up, there must be no tell tale signs of the twelve hours you have already spent on your feet, the bad hair day or the rushed manicure five minutes before their arrival. The very best hosts have eyes in the back of their heads and can avert any social or housekeeping dramas in seconds. A collapsed birthday cake was my penance this weekend but it was nothing that masses of garden roses and a wide smile couldn't cover up. A polished host can mop up the most unsavoury of messes (in the literal and not so literal sense) and knows that, 'what goes on tour stays on tour'. (If my last sentence is any way true .....) The sublime host is a kind of human encyclopedia; fully briefed in the art of conversation and he/she will remember the names of all the guests and be able to rattle them off in any order for the purposes of introduction. This is where I struggle and one that I achieve successfully only half of the time. I have to take a flying leap of faith and hope like mad that the correct names will miraculously find their way out of my mouth in order. 'Darling' is my faithful fallback position when it comes to my children's friends.
There are no secret ingredients or magical tricks that make a party memorable; parties are all about people, the hosts who give them and the guests who attend them. Like Adam and Eve, Beauty and the Beast, Batman and Robin or Bonnie and Clyde; one would not work without the other. xv
party image by Carla
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