Get your guests to dress up for the occasion, maybe you could set a theme for the evening - what about Breakfast at Tiffany's?

The gents can dig out their dinner jackets, while the ladies slip into their little black dresses.


The Basics

You'll need some basic equipment to set up your bar. You can't expect to be able to shake up and stir every cocktail under the sun, but you can start with the main spirits and mixers, as well as:

• tables/chairs
• napkins
• glasses
• plates/dishes
• cutlery
• ice/ice bucket
• serving dishes
• cocktail shaker/stirrers
• bar measures
• swizzle sticks
• straws
• tongs
• soda siphon
• bottle openers and corkscrews
• drinks trays
• ashtrays
• a good range of music

Drinks

Buy drinks according to your budget - here are the main ingredients mainly used in cocktail making
Spirits: gin, vodka, rum, brandy, whisky, tequila, sparkling wine, and a selection of liqueurs such as creme de menthe.
Mixers: cola, ginger ale, Indian tonic water, club soda, fruit juices such as orange, mineral water, grenadine and angostura bitters.
Garnishes: olives, maraschino cherries, lemons, limes, oranges, Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
How much drink will be required?

Allow half a bottle of wine per person, three cocktails per person and a glass of soft drinks for the drivers.
Try our fabulous range of cocktail ideas

Food

When it comes to cocktail parties, finger food is the answer. Lay it out on a table and suggest that people help themselves. That will leave you free to prepare your cocktails.
If you are planning for the party to last for around two hours, you will need 10-12 canapes per person. Serve a good selection of hot and cold canapes and nibbles. Don't forget to provide meatless options for your vegetarian guests.
Have a look at our ideas for delicious finger food.

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A NIGHT AT THE OSCARS

Why should the stars have all the fun on Oscar night? Why should it be limited to one night of the year? Bring Hollywood's most glamorous evening to your party venue!

Invitations

Set the tone of the party with the invitations. Get creative and make invitations in the shape of an Oscar or film clapper board, or use the image of your favourite movie stars.

In your invitations, encourage guests to dress for the occasion. Suggest a black tie evening for a real feeling of glamour or ask them to come as their favourite Holywood star.

Party Decorations

Choose a colour theme to work for your decorations. For an authentic Hollywood look, choose black & gold or black & silver. Go the whole hog and roll out the red carpet for your guests arriving at your front door.

As guests arrive, give them the star treatment by taking photos, paparazzi style!
Sprinkle stars in all sizes over tables and use photos from magazines of movie stars to add the ‘A list’ element to your party!


Entertainment

If you are hosting your party on the night of the awards ceremony, inject a little friendly competition into the mix. Ask guests to donate a small amount of money to an Oscars Sweep and to select the winner of each major category. The person who has made the most successful predictions wins the money in the pot.
Why not divide your guests into teams and set up an Oscar themed quiz. A visit to oscar.com may help in your quest for questions! The captain of the winning team must give an acceptance speech to receive their prize.
Ask your guests to write a proposal for a movie about their lives. They should write a title and cast the movie as well.
As a group, decide which guests should win awards for most glamorous dress, best hair, most outrageous outfit and most unusual acceptance speech!

Food and Drink

Shake things up with our cocktail ideas!
Be inspired by our delicious finger food recipes!

DISCO FEVER

Find a pair of flares and feel the beat, man!

Invitations

Try to find an image of a disco ball or platform shoes and write your message on the back.

Buy a number of singles on vinyl and write the party particulars in bright writing on the record.

Ask your friends to arrive dressed in outrageous 70’s garb. Leisure suits, bell bottoms, 12 inch collars and lots and lots of chest hair for the men. Gold chains and polyester baby, that's what it’s all about.

Party Decorations

For a 70's party, decorate with wild prints, gold and silver, and a disco ball if you can find one.

Entertainment

Select disco compilations and watch them boogie!

Choreograph a few routines and lead your friends in the tackiest moves you can come up with.

Play "Name that 70's tune."

Ask guests to bring along their photos from the 70’s. Pin all the images to the board and play who’s who.

Food

Go for old favourites such as cheese fondue, quiche lorraine, garlic bread, chicken wings and nachos with dips.

Drink

Make up a punch for everyone to serve themselves

KIDS' PARTY

Every child loves to have a party that is fun and games from start to finish. Here are a few ideas on how to plan the perfect pint-sized party for the kids.

Theme

Set a theme for the party. Plan the day around the child's favourite cartoon character or toy. It won't be hard to find the relevant paper plates, tumblers and napkins.

Get all the kids to dress as their favourite character and remember that the birthday cake could follow the theme too. If you don't have time to bake yourself, you will find decorated cakes in all major supermarkets.

Entertainment

Kids can't abide a dull moment, so make sure that there is plenty of entertainment on offer! How about hiring a clown, magician or balloon modeller?

Have the afternoon running like clockwork and have a good selection of party games planned.

Don't forget the music - there are some great chart compilations around which will keep the kids dancing away. The music will come in handy for the old party favourites like Musical Chairs and Pass the Parcel.

Food

Kids food is easy! Stick to cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, crisps and other nibbles and you can't go wrong!

With a growing number of vegetarians it's a good idea to provide meatless snacks too. Don't forget to provide healthy snacks such as raw vegetables with dips and fresh fruit.

Make the food into funny shapes and serve on plates before the kids sit down.

Keep the sweet stuff limited to a few options as there will be birthday cake too!

It's best to serve the birthday tea at the end of the party when all the running around is over.

Tips for Success

Clear as much space as possible, so that there is plenty of room for games.

The party should last for about two hours. After that length of time it's hard to keep the kids amused and you'll be exhausted too!

Keep the numbers down and try and limit the party to no more than 20 guests

Suggest a party theme so that the kids can dress up.

Have a tape ready to play for the children to dance to Have at least a half a dozen party games ready to play. The old favourites are still fun - Musical statues, Pass the Parcel, Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Traffic Lights, to name but a few.

Have at least a half a dozen party games ready to play. The old favourites are still fun - Musical statues, Pass the Parcel, Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Traffic Lights, to name but a few.

Get snap happy and take plenty of photographs of the big day.