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Always have a theme! Yes it sounds cliche but it works. You don't have to go over the top or try to come up with interesting games or costumes, the idea is more to motivate you to think outside of the box. The theme can be as simple as a colour that inspires you to make a certain drink that you love or create an atmosphere of good conversation.

I love Gin and Tonic I could drink it till the cows come home. When I drink G&T's they make me think of lime citrus a bright fresh green colour. That colour inspires in me thoughts of summers at the beach, walking bare foot in the sand trying not to get the top of my pants wet in the ocean. I use this as a jumping off point, to inspire me and give my imagination a boost. Pool parties with G&T's in the summer and jazz playing on the radio sounds easy enough to me as long as you have the right idea and good company.

Remember to pay attention to and use the seasons for inspiration. For example, I love the fall with all the rich colours on the trees and the air is just crisp enough to wear your favourite sweater and not get too hot. Orange and brown and gold, these are great colours to use if you want to have different types of beers from around the world to sample for your guests at a cocktail party. Choose the beers based on colour and where they are from, stray a bit from your comfort zones and try something new. You will find that different taste and opinion will keep the conversation flowing. If you are not a beer person try it with wine, there are some wonderful wines coming out of Australia and New Zealand, of course if you are more traditional you can stick to the French wines.

Once you have your theme, or an idea in your head of what type of atmosphere you want to create, then the rest is just planning. Here are a few things to consider when planning your cocktail party:

First and foremost, who are you going to invite? Try to invite guests that you genuinely want to hear what they have to say about topics and issues. Don't be afraid to mix your groups of friends up. The most interesting conversations are started by just getting two very different and intelligent people together to see what they have to say. A good little tip, always have a few news papers or magazines out to stimulate the conversation when it putters out from time to time.

Once you know who is coming, of course the drinks are next. I have a few friends who don't drink alcohol, so I always try to be aware of those guests, they will want to drink something

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