One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story Whoa! That's the word every party planner wants to hear from their guest the moment they arrive.
Well, that four-letter word can be easy to achieve if you get another four-letter word right: FOOD.
Sure enough, throwing a party-for whatever reason- is a hard task for anyone with no prior experience.
Well actually, even some of the "masters" can encounter some difficulties as well.
But let me tell you this; if there's something a party planner has to prepare for, that's the food.
How much should you serve? How many dishes should be prepared? Are finger foods the way to go? Or do you need real meals? What if you run out of food? Alcohol or no alcohol? And the list of questions goes on for, say, half an hour.
But don't worry.
I have some tips for you that will surely help you cross out some of the items in your food preparation department.
These are just the ABCs of it.
But you know what they say; basics are the fundamental of fun! In Journalism, the primary aim is to inform.
And how do they do that? Well, they answer the 5Ws and 1H.
What's that you say? The 5 Ws are: What, why, where, when and who.
And the H is how.
And having this guide will help you tremendously in planning the best party ever.
You will have to use these six questions with, of course, a little modification.
•What's your party theme? •Why are you having the party? •Where is the party going to be? •When will you throw the party? •Who are expected to come? And the most crucial question to answer on food preparation, •How much should you prepare? Answering the 5 Ws will help you to arrive at an accurate estimate on just how much you should you prepare and serve.
For example, you're throwing the party because it's your office mate, also a close friend's birthday (Why) and since it is the summer, (When) you opted for a Hawaiian theme (What).
You have a house with a pool and a spacious garden (Where) and since you share the same peers and work in the same place, you know pretty much who might go to the party (Who).
So how much will you prepare? Now using our example, since it is a luau party, you are expected to prepare chips, tropical fruits and barbecue! Basically, nothing fancy.
Full, big meals are not expected in this type of party.
So just load up any fruits like pineapple, mangoes, bananas and grapes.
If you're not a big fresh market person, an easier is alternative is to buy prepared fruit cocktails in your local grocery stores.
And you know what the best thing about fruits is? You can never have too much of it! You can also just buy tortilla chips and some tomato salsa that your guests can munch on while socializing-a good thing in every party.
Then you can also buy (or be adventurous and make some yourself) some barbecues that you can grill in the party.
It' easy, fun and we all know it, it's so delicious! And now since you have clearly answered the 5 Ws, you would have a good answer on the How question.
Just remember that the appetites of your guests are quite unpredictable, so adding a bit more than expected is better.
If you are anticipating about 80 people, prepare food that's good for 100.
A safe rule for food preparation is to add a quarter on your expected number of guests.
With this you can ensure that none of your guests will starve and if ever there would be leftovers, it's not that much.