February 25th, 2010
Now that Christmas / New Years excesses are a dim and distant memory and you’ve got your January detox out of the way, why not think about throwing a wine tasting evening? A wine tasting event is a great party idea to share with others – as long as you have paracetamol on hand for the morning after!
An at home wine tasting is easy to arrange and requires very little in the way of party planning. You’ll need wine but if you ask guests to bring a bottle of their favourite vino that will keep costs down. Aside from that you just need some disposable plastic wine glasses, plenty of snacks and space in the fridge to chill any white or sparkling wines.
Prepare your wine stations by wine type – one for red, one for white and one for dessert / sparkling. Set aside a couple of bottles for a game of ‘Guess the Grape’ later on. You can act as the Sommelier yourself, or enlist the help of a non-drinking buddy and let each guest sample any of the wines they choose. If they like a particular wine, offer them a full glass.
To play ‘Guess the Grape’, cover the labels of a few of each type of wine and hand guests a sheet of paper with spaces for them to write each answer. Guests should sniff and taste the wine and then make their guess as to which type or grape variety the wine is based upon. Having sampled each wine, they must write down the grape from which it was made, be it Chardonnay, Merlot or Shiraz. The winner takes home an unopened bottle as a prize…and maybe some paracetamol for their headache.
Tags: Party Ideas, party planning, wine tasting ideas, wine tasting planning
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February 3rd, 2010
Can you believe that it’s February already? Yes only a couple of weeks until Valentines day, a veritable minefield of a day whether you’re part of a couple or single. If you’re part of a couple (married or not) there’s the whole present / card trauma. Do you buy one or not? Will you sulk if you don’t get anything (me!)
If you’re single, it can also be a drag. You can’t get a decent meal without paying OTT prices, and you’ll be surrounded by couples who aren’t talking to each other because they’re ‘past all that’ now.
So why not get together with some like-minded friends and have an Anti-Valentines day party? If you fancy a fabulously bitchy party, invite all your single girlfriends (or gay male friends 
). Like any ‘normal’ party you can have food, drink, music and games and I’ve made a few suggestions for each below:
Games
- Buy a dartboard, bring along a pic of your worst ‘ex’ and then have fun by taking it in turns to spear them in the head, with double points for hitting both eyes, naturally.
- Alternatively, the childrens party game ‘Pin the tail on the donkey’ can have a whole new meaning as you attempt to pin whatever you want to a picture of your ex. Or the Prime Minister, or George W, or whomever.
Food & Drink
- For this sort of party, it’s really got to be cocktails. I particularly like the sound of A Lovers Tiff or perhaps a Valentines Dream. Maybe even a Lovers twist? To be fair some of these sound disgusting, but you get the idea!
- Food wise, whatever is easy to stick in the oven and abosorb some alcohol. Pizza is always a good bet, as are any sort of nacho’s / dips etc.
Music
As for music, it’s got to be uplifting and it’s got to be something you can sing along to. No Bridget Jones style caterwauling in your PJ’s, more of the Gloria Gaynor / Abba-esque belting it out, loud and proud. If you can borrow someones ‘Singstar’ all the better.
And of course it wouldn’t be a party without someone taking dodgy photos for ‘posterity’. Just remember to get yourself a fabulous Photo Album to keep all those lovely pics in.
As usual if you have any ideas to share, please feel free to leave a comment or for more unique party ideas, tips and customer reviews of our wedding guest books and wedding guest book ideas, please visit our blog.
Tags: anti-valentines day, Party Ideas
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