Some would say..Now..in this economical recession..I would say Yaa..this would really cheer up a lot..Things arent only always about money..we earn money to spend and to live comfy..here are some tips to throw a party.

It’s best to use an electric knife on small finger sandwiches , that have a filling that will easily run out.

You can hollow out a green, red, or yellow pepper. Fill it with a dip.

You can also scoop out a cucumber or small squash for dips also.

If your having wine and cheese, figure 4 oz of cheese per person.

A quart of dip will take care of 150 – 170 cracker size servings.

If your having a picnic figure on 3 beers, or soft drinks per person.

If making a pizza it is wise to add, the cheese before the sauce. This will prevent the crust from getting soggy.

Now if your worried about your ice cubes melting for drinks, just place a larger under the ice cubes with dry ice in it. They will last through the entire party.

Got left over wine coolers. Try freezing them in ice cube trays. Now use them in anything that calls for wine.

Don’t forget. You can add food coloring to cream cheese for your rolled sandwiches. You can even use a different color for each layer.

For adult drinks freeze some olives in ice cubes.

For children’s drinks freeze some red cherries in ice cubes.

Now lets keep that large punch bowl cold. Take an make some large ice cubes, using milk cartons. The larger the cube, the slower it will melt.
The rule of thumb is 1 lb of ice cubes per person. The average person will go through 10 – 15 cubes for his drinks. Depending on the type of drink. Now you’ll need 2 lbs for the big boozers. Or better yet, don’t invite them.

A great dip is to just puree 1 cup of white beans drained, with a package of any herb – flavored soft cheese.

Kids love those animal sandwiches. So just get out your cookie cutters.

If serving meats, keep a damp paper towel over them. Then they won’t dry out.

Stop that fizzing. When you get ready to pour soda in a glass, place the ice cubes in first. Now rinse them for a few seconds, and pour the water out. Last pour the soda in. You just changed the tension of the ice.

Fill ice cube trays with hot water. They will freeze faster.

Need chocolate for recipes. Wait until after Easter. Now go buy some solid chocolate rabbits, and shave them with a potato peeler.

Now if you’d like to serve some fancy butter- Just take and squeeze some butter on a cookie sheet, and chill until it hardens.

Dishes placed out on a buffet like to move. So just slide

I agree with you..a party from time to time can help reduce depressions and stresses we face in life...

"Lets party party!" shouts a friend, but do they realise that a party needs a lot of organising? It needs more than inviting everyone you know and hoping it will all workout. The fact is a party requires planning, if it is going to be a roaring success.
First of all get a piece of paper and pen. Decide the theme of the party. Is it an adult Christmas party or perhaps it is a kid's party, maybe all the family are attending. Give yourself plenty of time to plan the party, at least a few weeks. Avoid trying to throw a party the next day or evening, it just won’t be successful because you just will not have enough time to do everything that you want and you will be left frustrated at its failure.

With the theme sorted your next stage is to set a budget. We would all like to spend thousands on a parties but very few of us can. So be realistic. Set a reasonable amount to spend and try and find ways to stick to it. When the party is in full swing you can tell people where you got the various items at bargain prices! When writing down your budget give an amount to each area of the party. For example, food including the cake, banners, invitations, balloons, table decorations, party bags, outfits (if needed), presents, cost of DJ – if required, etc. See these are the accessories that need your consideration! Write a checklist of these items and find out where you are going to get them.


Next thing you need to think about is where to hold the party? Is there enough room at home? Or are there so many people coming that you need to use the garden? For example, buy or hire a gazebo or marquee. Perhaps a local hall is needed? The local club or Scout hall could all be hired for a reasonable price. They may even offer to do the catering for a small fee. As a last resort a hotel function suite could be hired. It would cost more but the facilities would be much better. Remember to consider the time of year when thinking of the venue.

Planning a party around a theme is easier than doing it any other way. It may be a year – 1970s theme; a fancy dress theme; a murder mystery theme; a Disney theme for children; whatever the theme the planning will be easier to do if you know these certain things. For example the cake.
Try and get other people involved in the planning and tasks. This will also help with spreading the costs and time. Especially if a DJ is going to be hired. A good DJ can cost £100 in 2008 and will probably need to be booked a few weeks in advance. Around the same time as you send out the invitations. Ask them to reply that they will be attending the party as this saves catering for 100 when only 30 are really intending to come along on the day! A word about invitations, it might seem obvious to most but make sure you clearly state in the invitation the following. The place, date, time, who the party is for, who is throwing it and finally a ‘phone number to contact saying that they will be attending. Take a note of who you sent the invitations to as this can sometimes cause problems later, believe me!
If the party is for children only, then say parents are also welcome. Make sure you have contact details of all parents. Ask if their child has any food requirements ( allergic to nuts, for example), vegetarian, etc. If it is a children's party then you are definitely going to need some form of entertainment. Computer games like a Wii or playstation, or maybe an entertainer, a clown for the young ones, a magician, or comic needs to be considered. If it is the summer then a lot of people hire a bouncy castle. I have some reservations about these as accidents can happen if they are not supervised. If you do hire a bouncy castle then make sure safety is the main priority. No shoes on, only a few kids on at a time, no ‘carry on’, only kids of roughly the same size on at one time, etc.

Always have a back up plan if the party is outside. The weather can often control the success of a party. It is better to have too much of something than too little. Plenty of food and drink (soft or alcoholic) can have a major influence on the outcome of a party.

Make sure all the guests get involved. Circulate the group engage all guest in the party, tell stories of how you organised it etc. Give them a task if they are struggling to integrate so they feel involved in the whole proceedings. Once you have made sure everyone is mixing and feeling good then you can relax, a little.

If you can do all of the above your party will be a roaring success and people will talk about it for months if not years from now. Lets partyparty will be their greeting everytime they meet you!

That is a nice idea. It would certainly helps members who are being affected by the economic crisis. Partying is something that can be done at all times and any non costly stuffs can be used in parties. And the main reason behind partying is to get the people together and make them to forget their sufferings.

I agree. Just because we're on recession doesn't mean that we have to torture ourselves and ignore relaxation and a nice party. We should let our hair down once in a while.
Dentists Lakeland | Dentist Lakeland

I love the ideas! I also love to entertain, and do so quite a bit, but I don't spend much money. Most of my serving dishes and decorations are 2nd-hand (yard sales, Goodwill, etc.), and I get many compliments on them. I catered my own wedding 5 years ago, and also used the serving dishes mentioned. It looked very elegant, too. (I buy lots of silverplate and sterling silver pieces cheaply, esp. on eBay).

A party needn't cost a lot, and you can still have great food and drink. Make a few simple, but well-made, good quality dishes. Homemade almost always tastes better than store-bought. If you can supply some of the ingredients from your garden, even better! NOTHING beats fresh, home-grown produce. Heirloom vegetables, for example, are both tasty and attractive in appearance. A platter of sliced heirloom tomatoes, garnished with fresh basil, is one of the most beautiful dishes. I often make a margherita-type pizza as an appetizer. Buy Pillsbury pizza dough, pat it out into a baking pan, curl the edges up a bit. Brush it with olive oil; scatter shredded mozzarella cheese, chopped, fresh tomatoes, garlic, and fresh basil over it; bake for about 12-15 minutes. Cut into small squares. Simple, but a big hit at my parties.

A slow-cooker makes things easy, too. It's the best way to cook meats and soups (and chili). Guests can also serve themselves.