Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Jes on AskMen.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Host with the Most
Today we had Jes answer one of the hardest questions posed to someone hosting an event. What are your top 10 tips to being a fabulous host and still have fun? This is a difficult task but check out Jes' great tips and tricks below.
1. Give yourself a budget, but be sure to not only put your cash into décor and food but possibly into hiring some supportive event staff like a bartender or someone to help you clean up in the kitchen! This will make your life uber easy and freed up to be a phenomenal host!
2. Do what you know and what you do well!! Don’t try to cook Indian food if you never have before for your first time hosting a party.
3. Dress comfortably but show yourself off as the host. If you’re going to try to pull off those seven-inch heels while hosting an event you are either stupid or a gladiator from roman times. Dress so you feel like a rock star but be comfortable and who you are normally; just raise the bar a bit. If you’re into the all black look, go ahead and rock out a hot pink shoe or an awesome feather in your hair to let your guests know that you are the woman to know!
4. Make things simple on yourself. Pre-prepare anything you can in terms of food etc. you can freeze items and defrost when its party time and pre mix some cocktails too. Do as much as you can before party so you can relax and be with your friends.
5. Check out your surroundings and make sure your environment is party ready. If you’ve had a running toilet, fix it because you know that puppy will choose to break during your event. If you have major valuables that you don’t want your drunken friends to mess up, by all means hide them!
6. Create “no enter zones” in your home. Just because you invited folks over, it doesn’t mean that they are welcome to look in your underwear drawer.
7. If you are having an outdoor event, be sure to turn off your sprinkler system a few days before your event. Your ground will be a mud bath if you don’t. Be sure you have proper bug repellents, and outdoor lighting as well.
8. Make the invitation process easy! Go electronic or if you go with paper, make sure you keep track of your RSVP’s with an excel spreadsheet constantly. It’s very important to know who is coming to your party because it will affect your supply level, and yes its okay to do an electronic invite for a cocktail gathering.
9. When pouring the libations do small pours. If your guests are going to be there a while make sure the alcohol flows but doesn’t flood! A bottle of wine should server at least 4-6 guests and cocktails should be mixed with quick shots of alcohol not a lingering long lasting shot. Trust me, you will be happy you did this!
10. Don’t let guests leave your party drunk!!!! Whether you believe this or not, you are legally liable for anyone who leaves your event wasted and worse yet in a car crash. Be sure to have a trustworthy taxi cab service on hand.
I know this is beyond 10, but my last tip is to HAVE FUN!! Why go through all this shit if you aren’t going to have a good time?
Photo Credit: Mad Men AMC
Monday, August 23, 2010
Go! Fight! Win!
Its that time of year again when weekends are dominated by football games and the great tradition known as tailgating starts up again. We have some great tips for fans young and old. These sugJEStions can be used whether you are lucky enough to have tickets or you are catching the game on your own big screen. Transportable Gas Grills for table tops or the bed of a pick up truck are a great invention! In addition to serving the usual hot dog and hamburger fare, throw down an awesome do it yourself S’mores Party Platter for those chilly night time games.
Provide Solo cups to drink your choice of poison out of, and choose an array of the cup colors that match your favorite team.
Astro Turf the back of your pick up truck and create a picnic vibe complete with blankets and pillows so you can really party down in comfort.
Don’t forget your team window flags, go over the top here and instead of one flag per window, go for four and put team magnets all over your vehicle. Root your team on with pride!
For the morning games- go for some pre mixed bloody mary’s in a large service thermos to get your party started right away in the early hours. If its chilly outside trade Bloody Mary’s for Irish Coffee, especially if your team is Notre Dame.
If you really want to power up the boom box, a TV and possibly a loud speaker for rowdy cheering, bring along a handy mini Generator (about the size of a small suitcase) MUSIC is important here, bring your iPod with an upbeat playlist along with your team’s fight song on repeat of course!
Play a non-money betting game by betting upon the outcome of each quarter with your friends and giving out cool prizes like movie tickets, beer and the grand prize could actually a TV!
Instead of the typical tailgating chairs bring some fun blow up mod furniture from Target or Walmart.
For the old folks it’s a bit more about comfort. Provide awesome flannel plush blankets and pillows for each buddy and if its hot out provide umbrellas in your team colors or go mac daddy with the self standing tents that have your team name imprinted on them. Some of these puppies are complete with fans that clip onto the tents for that extra breeze.
Do a Keg-o-rator from Heineken instead of the usual piss beer and for the ladies provide some mini-Coronas displayed in an ice trough. For the cold weather, hook your hot plate up to make some hot toddy’s for the fellas and some spiced cider for the ladies.
For gourmet treats instead of usual game fare serve: Carmelized Onion and Sour Cream dip with Kettle chips, Frito Pie, Spicy Cabbage Slaw and BBQ pulled pork on cheddar cheese biscuits.
Give each buddy their own self standing TV tray that they can keep their snack and drinks on them and provide the higher level tailgating chairs that recline etc.
Provide each guest with their very own stadium chair that they can bring into the game screen printed with the team logo and their names.
These tips will help you raise the bar and help your tailgate score!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sweet Tooth
Today is the final post on our Kids Theme Party tips. We would love to hear your comments and and stories about how you put these tips into action in the weeks to come! Leave them below.
Sweets for the Sweet
Hell, just give in to their whining demands once a year and have a sweets for the sweet party with no healthy food. Set up an ice-cream sundae bar with frozen yogurt or ice cream and a complete selection of candy and fruit toppings. Kids can go to different decorating stations where they can top cookies or cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles. On the floor, replicate a huge Candyland game board on a white plastic tarp either by drawing it yourself with nonsmearing art markers or having the artwork printed on vinyl at a print shot – not only does this protect your floor, it keep s the concept in mind. I also love a candy bar (in fact, I have one in my home on a permanent basis). Construct your own candy landscape by using old mason jars or simple discount-store glass vases of all different shapes and sizes; filled with assortments of candy, they’ll look like a colorful skyline. Next to each jar of candy, put a guessing jar so each guest can guess the number of candies inside on slips of paper. The winner gets… more candy! Or have a silly recipe contest, where you hand out simple recipe cards for something common like chocolate chip cookies0 but you leave out one ingredient, Mad Libs style (a la “sugar, flour, eggs, bugger, and _____”). Trust me, the responses will be hilarious. Make sure you have your guests sign their pieces of paper so you can read them aloud and crack everybody up!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Jes' tips on Glamour Magazine Website
This week on Glamour.com Jes shares her fabulous drink tips. Glamour's blogger takes Jes' tips on the road to a friend's bachelorette party where they use Southern Comfort to make a fabulous specialty drink with Jes' recipe!
Check out the link below to read the entire entry!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
What to wear?
With wedding and event season in full swing many of you are probably dealing with the common question of what the appropriate attire for the occasion will be. Summer adds even more of a dilemma because the weather widens your options. This post today is about how to make the right decision if you are a guest and keep it simple if you are the host.
Terms like black tie seem obvious, but people often wonder, "Does that mean I have to wear a black tie?" It is confusing these days: Men can wear a gorgeous black suit with a monochromatic shirt and tie, or a single breasted black suit with a bow or straight tie. Both are acceptable at a black-tie event, as is the more traditional tuxedo. With women, I have noticed that black tie conjures up one thing: a black dress. This is disappointing because formal attire is a lot broader than we have been conditioned to think. It just means dress nicely as you can. Black tie is a more conservative atmosphere - therefore, shoes not sneakers, boobs should be kept under wraps, and hair and makeup should not be too over the top. But that doesn't mean that you can't bring a little bit of your personal style to the outfit. Guys can wear outrageous cufflinks or funky striped socks that peek out only when they are seated. Men's fashion designer Paul Smith offers amazing accessories for this purpose. Women have more choices: a fabulous broach, cool hair accessories, and of course great shoes and clutches. A moisturizer with a bit of sparkle in it across the upper chest and neck can look quite magical.
When you're inviting people you know well, you can create your own attire. I've seen casual chic used a lot in regard to dress. Simply, casual chic for men means that it's fine to wear a coat, no tie, an open collar, and a great pair of jeans - but no flip flops. Flip-flops are casual but not chic! The same rules apply for women, but if the flip-flops happen to have grown a nice wedge heel, I will lay down my sword. Girls can get away with a lot more in the dress code arena simply because we have so many options. We can wear a cotton halter dress with some chandelier earrings, but if a guy wears a simple cotton shirt, he needs to at least accessorize with a good pair of shoes. Casual chic also does not give you license to dress like a slut. We have thrown events ranging from Bohemian Chic to Cocktail Fabulous to Simply White. On that note, you can demand that your guests wear one color to your party, but keep in mind that at least half the people might not be so happy to comply. Guys find it relieving to be told what to wear, but women think that being forced to wear white on a fat day is the kiss of death.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Oh, Oh, Summer Nights!
Today we have two ideas for raising the bar on your typical summer night soirées. These sugJEStions for summertime bashes are great places to start when looking for something familiar yet unique. Recently there has been a retro-resurgence of parties like game nights; so why not mix in the recent warm weather? Summer is a perfect time to take this from cozy board-games to the great outdoors. Guests of all ages enjoy games like Bocce Ball and Croquet. If you have more active participants set-up a temporary volleyball net, but use a beach-ball to keep the game light. If the party is geared toward kids, scavenger hunts are a wonderful way to keep the little ones occupied in the yard. You could even create a European outdoor Chess area for a more sophisticated party. Be sure to keep the food light and use mini-portions that guests can munch on between competitions. As the evening winds down you can keep the retro coming with a modern version of a drive in movie. Rent a screen from a local company or use the white wall of a garage to project your favorite classics. Toss a collection of throws and floor cushions on the ground to keep guests comfy as they wind down from the day's activities.
A fiesta theme is always popular in the summer. raise the bar on yours by foregoing the typical elements and focus on what really makes Mexican and Spanish culture so unique. You could have a tequila bar that serves specialty tequila with different infusions and spins on the typical margaritas and mojitos. Be sure to have plenty of fresh ingredients on hand to keep everything authentic. If you can, hire a mixologist to turn the bar into a real experience. They can create fresh syrups and mixers from the ingredients and will teach your guests about cultural ingredients and drinks. With the menu embrace the family culture; have people seated at tables with lazy-susans full of toppings and fillers for tacos and fajitas. Serving family style encourages different guests at the tables to get to know each other and share. For entertainment hire Flamenco dancers to put on a show and then teach guests to dance as well.
The main goal with a summer party is to embrace the beautiful weather, extra daylight and fresh food options. With any event idea you can incorporate some of the above suggestions, tailor them to your theme and raise the bar!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Jes' Invites to Remember
This was a doggie vest Save the Date, so obviously Jes loved it!
With Spring in full bloom and Summer just around the corner parities and entertaining is at the front of everyone's mind. The first impression guests get of your party is the invitation so unique ideas are the best way to show the events style from the very beginning. Below are some of Jes's Favorite and most memorable invites from events she has designed and produced!
- We designed a great invitation for the launch of a new razor. Instead of paper invitations, we sent out gorgeous girls with long legs in short shorts who rode around Manhattan on pink Vespa scooters, personally delivering an invitation to each guest in the form of a razor with the details printed on it. The idea made quite an impression - the attendance rate was phenomenal, thanks to those leggy girls!
- For a one-year-old's birthday party invitation, we created a simple iMovie on a Mac mode from baby pictures and a soundtrack of "When I'm 64" by the Beatles. After the thirty-second slideshow came a page with the party specs. this type of things can be done with PowerPoint too - just e-mail it, send out a flash drive, or burn it onto a DVD.
- For a vodka launch, we sent out carved potatoes. Most people go the super-sexy model route with alcohol, but we had an artist carve the details into an actual potato, as one would using a lino block. You could even make potato prints this way if you ink them up. We sent the potato out in a box with scruffy tissue strands, much like a pet rock.
- There is nothing lovelier than using a child's piece of art as an invitation. To me, this is the most personal, charming invitation one can receive, because after the wow factor dies down from receiving a potato in the mail, all you are left with is the gimmick itself and not a treasured piece of original art.
- if you want your guests to remember your event, you could send out conceptual thank-you cards. We once did an urban awareness event for young twenty-somethings with a sex-ed expert on deck talking about safe sex. To thank them for coming, we sent a replica of a condom package with a real condom inside - hopefully one they added to their already existing collection.
There are more fabulous invite ideas and tips in Jes' book Party Like a Rock Star.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Pop of Color
A couple of sugJEStions for how to get the most out of your purchase?
If you use real votive candles make sure to put a little splash of water into each to keep the wax from sticking in the bottom.
An even better option to make these glow is with LED lights that give the illusion of a candle without the hazards of a flame and the messy clean-up.
Get the Lolli Candleholders at Crate & Barrel for $6.95
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