BoomerGirl Diary

Tracy Ford Stacey and Margie Coggins operate Ford & Coggins, an event planning and consultation service. They help interpret and execute the details of each event — be it a small birthday party or an elaborate wedding — to reflect their client’s ideas and wishes.

Ford & Coggins say party hosts most often come to them seeking advice, references and staffing assistance, including bartending services.

Throwing a party can be a lot of work, so Ford & Coggins offer these tips for those preparing for a holiday celebration or other gathering:

• Send invitations four to six weeks before a holiday party or large event; two to three weeks is a good guideline for the rest of the year, when people’s social calendars aren’t so busy. Invitations set the tone for the party, so it’s important to include as much information as possible: date, time, location, purpose of the event and appropriate attire.

• Consider the available space and type of party when deciding how many guests to invite. A sit-down dinner requires adequate seating and serving space. For a hors d’oeuvres/cocktail party, make sure there is enough room for guests to comfortably walk around. Always be prepared for the unexpected, including extra guests and inclement weather. Is storage space available for coats and umbrellas? Don’t forget to consider space for parking.

• Focus on planning. Getting organized makes it easier to relax and enjoy the party. Start with a budget and decide where to have the event — at home or at another site. Then prepare the guest list and send invitations.

• Set the menu. Decide what to make and what to buy from a caterer or other outside vendor. This isn’t the time for a new recipe; stick with tried-and-true favorites or at least do a test run before the event. Consider guests’ tastes. It’s smart to serve one or two meatless dishes for vegetarians. And think about eating arrangements. If guests will be eating while standing, don’t serve foods that are messy or tricky to eat.

• Check your serviceware and decide whether to rent any dishes or other items.

• Create a timeline for the critical party preparations: shopping, cleaning/decorating (who’s going to shovel the walk if it snows?) and cooking. Be sure to allow extra time for emergencies and last-minute preparations. Be prepared to improvise.

• Ease cleanup by making sure the dishwasher is empty before the party and that trash cans are easily accessible. Of course, the easiest and fastest way to ease cleanup is to hire someone to help do the cleaning for you.

• Encourage guests to mingle by locating the food and bar in multiple locations. When creating a guest lists, try to include groups of people who have common interests. Hosts should introduce guests who don’t know each other and help them find interesting conversation topics.

• Relax and enjoy. If the host is having fun, guests will too.