Elegant and exclusive: A cocktail party with a twist
Nothing says romance like a glass of wine! Give a traditional cocktail party a chic, contemporary twist by turning it into a wine and cheese party. Plus, you’ll save a significant amount on bar charges if you buy your own liquor and serve it at home – bars and hotels usually mark-up the prices of booze by anywhere between 100 per cent to 500 per cent!
Enlist the help of anyone who’s visiting Europe, Australia or USA. Get them to bring you a magnum of champagne, Aussie, Chilean or classic French wines. Fun offerings like pink champagne, rosé wines or strawberry, raspberry or cherry wine are crowd-pleasers, especially for women, who often prefer sweeter and milder wines. Throw in your special home-made wines to save cash - and get loads of compliments!
Serve up a dégustation (tasting) platter with a selection of bite-sized wedges of six to 12 different cheeses, from soft cheeses to hard cheeses, and try to include goat’s cheese and buffalo-milk cheese (buffalo mozarella’s a classic that’s generally appreciated), in addition to traditional cow’s milk cheeses.
Complement the cheese with platters of fruits like white, red and black grapes, strawberries, melon balls and crisp apple wedges. Or, whip up a stylish cheese fondue served with brown-bread and white bread croutons or vegetable crudités. The cosy atmosphere and the unusual food will set the mood for romance.
Fun and hip: A movie-themed dance
Everybody likes to dance! This year, swap out the Valentine’s Day pub-crawl for an at-home shindig to save your wallet. Rope in any tech-savvy music aficionado in your family to play DJ. Play dance hits with high-energy beats from contemporary regional or Bollywood movies to get your guests grooving, interspersed with romantic slow-dance numbers. Got some cash to blow? Go high-end by hiring a venue to hold a private dance party. A farmhouse that’s far away from other dwellings or a bungalow-for-hire with extensive grounds make for perfect party venues – the size and isolation means that your party won’t keep whole block awake till 4 am! Make sure there’s enough parking space, though, and get hold of a liquor license if you plan to serve booze (yes, it’s mandatory, and will save you getting in trouble with the cops). Get an event-planner to deck the place out with pink or red balloons, streamers and flowers. Make sure you have at least four or five people who’ll hit the floor first and get the party started, so that the shy ones or non-habitual dancers will follow their lead.
For nibbles, think unfussy, popular finger-foods like potato crisps, canapés, momos, cocktail sausages on sticks and mini-pizzas. In addition to the snacks, make sure there’s enough to drink for thirsty revelers.
This February 14 don’t spend the day moping at home… let the party start with you!
