Party Planning and More…

Lara Shriftman was on Extra today.  For those of you that do not know who Lara Shriftman is, she is the ultimate Party Planner to the stars.  She has hosted parties for Will Smith, Renee Zellweger, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Oprah, and many more.   She recently just released a book called Party Confidential which shares her tips on party planning.  She shared some of her most impressive tips live on Extra.  She stated that “Entertaining is easier than you think.  You just must have everything planned out well for it to be a successful party.”

These are her eight secret steps to a successful party: 1.  Always over invite.  The most important thing for your party is to have a great guest list with a mixture of people.  Don’t just invite people who are expected to be at your party invite a mixture of people to keep your party exciting.  Plan your party early enough that you can send out written invitations and follow up with a personal phone call to give it that extra special touch.

2.  Put an end time on invitations you don’t want guest trickling in at all hours.

3.  Greet guest with a drink.  For drinks always use a signature cocktail.  When serving your drinks line your tray with chocolates.  She also suggests that you use drinks with Tequila because as most alcohols are depressants Tequila is actually a stimulant. (For some additional drink recipes visit Gift Wrap and More)

4.  Sexy lighting and theme.  Right now the most popular colors are white and gold, beaded and sparkly.  Her tips are to have your guest dress to match the décor.  She suggests that if you are having a party at your house to remove all breakables and books and put them away.  Cover all furniture with white sheets and arrange to look like a Bungalow.  Use your dinning room table for desserts or bar and remove the chairs into the living room and cover them with a white cloth and add pillows to match the décor. Put dimmers on your lights and change the bulb colors to match your theme.  Place floating candles and pillar candles everywhere to enhance the sexy lighting.

5. Good food is always a must!  Have a mixture of salt and sweat and make sure it is all bite size and easy for people to grab.  Specialty Chocolate is one thing that Laura has at all of the parties that she plans. (I would recommend ordering your chocolate from Dan’s Chocolates) Keep your snacks simple.  Serve food that people like (mini hamburgers, pigs in a blanket, grilled cheese, different types of popcorn and nuts, cheese sticks, pizza, chocolate covered pretzels, etc.)  She stresses that it is not about what you are serving but how you are serving it.  Make it look good.

6.  A Great DJ is a must.  You will want to make sure that you have enough music to keep it fresh.  Make sure that you have enough music to last longer than you expect your party to last.  Start your music out slow and then make graduate to dance music then at the end slow the music back down again and begin to dim the lights.

7.  Have a Surprise for your guest something that they will not expect at your party, something fun and entertaining.  Like taking pictures and printing them out and giving them to your guest or a special guest that will sing or perform at your party.  Basically it can be anything that is fun and entertaining.

8.  Give a Gift Bag at end of night with chocolates or small bottles of liquor or gift certificates.  She also suggests giving your guest a bottle of water as they leave and a bag of candy.