How to host parties

Entertaining

Hosting parties Dinner parties Cocktail parties

Conrad Banks:Hosting Parties

HOW TO HOST: There are only, from what I’ve been able to figure out—and I’ve given the matter a lot of thought, believe me—three basic types of parties. They are 1) the open house, 2) the cocktail party, and 3) the dinner party. That’s it! Everything else is some kind of variation. So if you can master these three, you can host just about anything. Here’s how each works:

Open houses, first, are basically spiffed-up fraternity parties. They are so named because they have a fixed starting time but no fixed duration. Thus they are “open”:  guests show up and leave when they wish.

At cocktail parties, guests are invited to gather and socialize for a limited time over cocktails, wine, beer, and light snacks. The defining feature of cocktail parties is that they have a fixed start time and a roughly fixed ending time, and are rarely meant to last more than, say, two hours.

Dinner parties, finally, are parties where the host serves his guests dinner. Duh! They have a fixed start time (and guests really should try to arrive near then) and can last many hours, depending on the quality of the food, the sprightliness of the conversation, and the size and breadth of the liquor inventory.

None of our three kinds of parties are monumentally difficult to bring off when properly planned, and can be relatively inexpensive to host. And your guests can be counted on to have a very enjoyable time at all three. As to the best time of year to throw a party, I’m wracking my brain for when’s not a good time. My best guess is that the best time to host a party is any time, and that, at the margin, the sooner, the better.