Hosting a Wine and Chocolate Party

I'm a bit socially challenged. I have friends at work that I chat with on a regular basis, but find myself a bit shy when encountering someone new. A few years ago, I worked for a publishing company and a group of us started up a silly group to socialize and get to know each other better. It doesn't matter which website it was. From there we each hosted a party. I had a series of parties, but the favorite in my mind was the "Wine and Chocolate Party", with fourteen people attending. I had hosted parties of eight before, but never to that great an extent.

Perhaps my experience will help you go outside your comfort zone and host a party for people you barely know.

To host the party, my tiny bachelorette suite on the twelfth floor, one below the penthouse suites, had to be sparkling clean. It took me a week to clean it from top to bottom. I can't begin to stress how important this is. You don't want your guests too scared to use the bathroom!

The next step was figuring out the decorations. They basically would be: wine, chocolate and candles. I went to the dollar store down the street from me and spent $30 on fifteen pretty candleholders and fifteen pretty candles. From pillar candles, to votives to tea lights, I had all types to fit all my candleholders. I made sure to buy unscented candles. You don't want the scent to overwhelm anyone at the party, especially if you are drinking wine, and tasting chocolates.

The next step was the menu. Party goers told me in advance that they would be bringing something to the party. That meant that I could relax and focus on one delicious chocolate mousse recipe, plus buy yummy Purdy's chocolates, and several bottles of excellent wine. Wine over the cost of $15, no Gallo kegs here!

The best china was brought out and cleaned. Don't panic if you don't have any. I inherited mine from my mother and granny, but chocolate will look delicious even on a basic white plate.

The day of the party I spent a lot of time on the details. I figured out how to set up the chairs. I only had four dining room chairs, plus can seat 3 on my couch. I asked a few people to bring folding chairs, or perhaps they would not mind sitting on my comfy plush carpet, amid pillows. I didn't want separate chat zones, I wanted everyone to be seated together to make it a one group effort.

The dessert menu was ready. I set up an elegant display on my table. The wine was ready, along with the glasses.

To my great thrill, fourteen people showed up at my party. A lady brought flowers, which made the table go from delicious to stunning! Every bottle of wine was consumed!

I had made a schedule of events in advance. It went like this. Serve glass of wine with appetizers. Serve a glass of wine with desserts. Serve a Creme de Cacao liqueur. Serve coffee afterwards.

The party was a great success. My coworkers were all brought a little bit closer because of my party.

I saved cleaning up for the next day and discovered a few bottles of wine that were missed. It was like finding hidden treasure. I put them aside for the next party.

I hope that you too can host a fun wine and chocolate party, and go outside your comfort zone and invite people that you would like to know better.