A Holiday Party That Will Be Remembered...

Throwing a memorable holiday party involves a lot of things; You must get the food right and the mood right, don't forget the decorations and the lasting memories.

Upon entering your party the guests will first notice the outward appearance of your home or the location at which they will be partying so this will give them a preview of what's to come. This is a good opportunity to entice them to come on in and get them excited. Ice sculptures and thousands or hundreds of sparkling white lights should do the trick. I would try to keep the lights all one color or else you could come off as being a wee bit tacky. If this is a little too elaborate then stick with a nice red berried wreath on your door but to make your wreath stand out use fresh apples and oranges instead of pine needles.

If the ice sculpture out front didn't impress them then the huge 5 foot chocolate fountain should do the trick. (www.chocolatelegant.com) Offer a side plate of strawberries and champagne and your women guests will never leave the table that this thing sits on. For the men you can provide cigars (www.cigar.com).

To keep the party going hire a DJ and play nothing but the hippest holiday music and supply a karaoke machine in case guests are feeling saucy. Stock the karaoke machine with nothing but classic holiday songs If you want to make it interesting turn it into a drinking game. Each time the singer messes up the line he has to take a shot and by the end of the song he/she will surely be sloshed.

If you are trying for a more classy party then rent a few projectors and screens (or bare white walls) and show black and white Christmas movies with the sound off.

Offer memorable raffle gifts. Your party can get sponsored if you take the time to get local restaurants and business interested in your party. Just tell them how many people you expect and that they are big spenders of the community and they usually will give you some gift certificates you can raffle off. Sometimes the catering service you use will throw in something just for the name dropping.

Set up a motion sensor camera someplace to automatically take pictures when a guest walks by a certain spot. Like when you ride a roller coaster how it takes a picture of your horrified face at the end of the ride. Guests will surely be startled and be sure to send them a copy to remind them of the good time they had at your party.

If you want to throw a party that will really throw people off, change the entire theme all together. Say it's a Christmas party but when they show up they discover it's a beach party and everyone's wearing flowered shirts and you've hired hula dancers and are roasting a pig.

Whatever it is you do this holiday season just have fun and be safe.

Happy Holidays!