Cocktail Party Guide: Freebies & Fun

The party guide helps plan a themed Cocktail event with ideas, tips in the food departments, creative crafts, and clever conversation chats, menus, recipes, cookies, cakes and food labels. Free printable games, puzzles, place name cards and coloring pages.

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Cocktail Event Music

Sophisticated and fun should describe a cocktail party song list. You need just the right tunes to fit the mood. Among the many party supplies needed for a cocktail party, music is one of the most important and sometimes most time consuming to assemble. It is important to figure out what type of cocktail party you will be having. Is it formal or casual, current or classic? This is important because this will determine which music genre you will pull most of your music from. Plan carefully and well in advance to choose the best songs.

Formal and Sophisticated Cocktail Song List
The Roots: You Got Me
Seals and Crofts: Summer Breeze
Jazzanova: Let Me Show Ya
Donald Byrd: Wind Parade
The Jacksons: Show You the Way to Go
Janelle Monae: Sincerely, Jane
Blaze: Found Love

Casual and Fun Cocktail Songlist
He Can Only Hold Her Amy Winehouse
Sunday Mornings Maroon 5
Shine a Light The Rolling Stones
Golden Brown The Stranglers
Clocks Coldplay
Watching the Wheels Matisyahu
Oh Josephine Black Crowes

As a general rule, Jazz and classical music or music influenced by these genres are always a safe choice. These tunes will befit the purpose of this gathering. The only exception would be for a slightly younger crowd. For this crowd, sticking to the current top 100 is the best way to ensure a good time with regards to music selection. That way they won't fall asleep when the music plays! And everyone is sure to want to dance and sing along. A box can serve a dual purpose by first being able to hold supplies, but also be decorated on the outside for decor use. Don't be hesitant about asking parents to help out at a celebration for children. With a little imagination and white poster board, crayons, coloring pencils, tape, staples and printed photo images that can be cut, kids can create their own paper hats.

Homemade Cocktail Party Supplies

Elegantly designed homemade party supplies, party goods and handmade centerpieces are a welcomed addition to a cocktail party. They can turn a nice evening into a beautiful one. Many times a traditional cocktail party takes a lot of time and money, but homemade drink umbrellas and centerpieces will add a great deal to the party. It does not take a lot of bucks to make something beautiful. Making your own cocktail party centerpieces will save time and money while adding a personal touch to the cocktail party. Homemade centerpieces will greatly compare to those used in the past, but the handmade beauty of the centerpieces will stand out.

Before planning the cocktail party take an inventory of the homemade party supplies and other cocktail part goods. After an analysis of the party supplies you have make a list of what will be needed for the cocktail party. Advance planning is very important in this instance.

Prepare the handmade party supplies and party goods for your cocktail party a few weeks in advance. More often than not, this preparation time will save the hostess a great deal of stress worrying about making the homemade party supplies the day of the party. These handmade party supplies, along with other handmade party goods such as personalized flags and a variety of homemade cocktail items will make your cocktail party a breeze. Finally, once the homemade cocktail tail party supplies have been made the hostess can focus on planning the rest of the cocktail party. This happening is bound to be a surefire success.

Cakes for Cocktail

Any cocktail theme requires a cake for a treat. Good drinks are not enough to satisfy hungry guests. Any color combination can be used for a cocktail party for the cake and other party supplies but a classic color combination is black and gold. This color combination is reminiscent of Hollywood and glamour. It evokes feelings of class and beauty for many guests. Treat your guests to a delicious and beautiful cocktail themed cake. They are sure to be impressed by your culinary creativity.

A dramatic look with a cake will provide a focal point and add to the party. While having an all black or gold color cake is usually not the ideal cake look, accenting or heavily accenting a white or ivory cake base color is stunning. People are sure to be dazzled by this edible object of beauty.

Light decorating of a cake could mean piping the cake in black and gold, adding piping detail to the sides of the cake on small scales or even adding gold or black edible jewels throughout the cake. This type of simple decorating style is highly elegant and fits in perfect with a cocktail theme cake. A little effort can lead to a lot of culinary splendor.

Choosing a bold cake means that the cake will be highly decorated with minimal white showing and maximum color. Piping, decals, edible images and more can all be used in combination with each other to cover the entire cake. Take this opportunity to make your dream cake for guests.

A texture on a cake can be utilized in both a minimally decorated cake as well as a highly decorated cake. Whichever design option that is chosen, the elegance of both will be amazing.

Cocktail Parties

Send out formal invitations for a black and white cocktail party. Hang black and white balloons and silver streamers from the ceiling and place a bowl of red M&Ms or red, foil-wrapped Hershey�s Kisses in a prominent spot for a dash of color. Consider flashing �Sex and the City� episodes soundlessly upon your big-screen as sexy, soft jazz CDs play in the background.

While a bartender mixes Manhattans and Metropolitans in partystore renditions of martini glasses, have an icebreaker activity to help guests mingle. Write up a bunch of stereotypical cocktail conversation lines on bits of paper and pass around in a black hat or white bowl to get the party started. Or place Trivial Pursuit questions in the hat instead and ask everyone to pair up with someone unfamiliar. Hot potato, cheese, and bacon appetizers will add a savory edge. Wasabi peas and spiced nuts are a sophisticated touch. Add hummus with toasted pita, vegetable platters, and a shrimp or crab salad and you�ve got a classic evening. If you decide to include dancing, bring out the disco balls for some more glitz. When you�ve had enough of being adults, kick off your Manolos and entwine yourselves in a wild game of Twister!

Seasonal Parties

4th of July Parties
Flag Day Parties
Independence Day Parties

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Cocktail History, Facts and Educational Resources

Add an educational twist to any birthday party, holiday celebration, or theme party. Share the history of the Cocktail theme to the guests. Play some free printable educational party games. Shhh don't tell the kids that they are learning!

Cocktail History & Facts

Although today known as a quiet, sedate gathering of friends, the Cocktail Party actually has some notorious origins. Be prepared to learn the truth behind these happenings.

Historically, people usually enjoyed their alcoholic refreshments in the halls of bars, taverns, and nightclubs. With the onset of prohibition in the 1920s, however, alcohol consumption was driven underground. People planned speakeasy parties in the comfort and confidentialty of their own homes, enjoying various varieties of booze along with healthy doses of conversation and camaraderie. It was not exactly legal but was a lot of fun. And so an early form of the Cocktail Party was born.

Even after the defeat of prohibition, people continued to enjoy cocktail parties in the privacy of their residences, where they can enjoy wine, cognac, bourbon, gin, schnapps, and other liquid refreshments (though the serving of beer is usually avoided) while chatting with friends and business associates. This is something that people look forward to on a regular basis.

Indeed, especially in the Let�s Do Lunch eras of the �80s and �90s, the Cocktail Party has become a networking tool. People invite their co-workers and even their employers to break bread (or, as is more likely the case, hors d�oeuvres, finger sandwiches, candies, etc.) and sip wine as they broker business deals and make future plans for their companies. The cocktail party fits the Let's Do Lunch concept ideally.

People even have taken cocktail parties outside the home, making them a part of art gallery exhibits, book signings, corporate ribbon cuttings, awards ceremonies, etc. Cocktails really do make everything better.

Despite its somewhat notorious beginnings, the Cocktail Party has earned a recent reputation as a sedate, tasteful but very productive festivity where friendships are sealed and business deals are made. Plan a Cocktail Party today! It really does suit every occasion to a tea--or a cocktail. Gather up some leftover brown packing boxes, wrap them in a matching theme color design and place them throughout the event space for instant decorations. Everyone does not drink alcohol, be inclusive when planning a get-together and have a choice of drinks that include non-alcoholic opinions. Gather up some leftover brown packing boxes, wrap them in a matching theme color design and place them throughout the event space for instant decorations. The history of Cocktail has different interpretations by each person, so use your own judgement. Share these facts with friends at a celebration.

Educational Cocktail Resources

The Party Supplies Hut has more free elementary educational teacher resources for Cocktail to use in the classroom for active learning to create lesson plans with trivia questions, games and fun activities.

History of Cocktail
More Cocktail holiday educational teachers classroom resources: