the "Monkees Martini" may become your new favorite drink!

To prevent a sticky microphone and smudged CDs, avoid finger foods as snacks. Serve foods that can be eaten with utensils, like pasta salads or Chinese dumplings, or stick toothpicks into snacks like pigs in a blanket or mini quiches. Avoid baskets of chips and bowls of candy. Make sure there are plenty of napkins and paper towels on hand; you might even want to consider leaving a box of pre-moistened hand wipes by the box of CDs.

Step four: The party.

Once guests are fed and loosened up, you may want to set up some games to get the party rolling. Put all of the guests' names in a hat, and have everyone choose a partner for duets. Let them choose from fun songs like Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe," "I've Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, "Summer Nights" from Grease, or my personal favorite, Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

You can also play "Karaoke Truth or Dare" where guests "dare" other guests to sing potentially embarrassing songs. You can alter the rules of the game to suit your particular group of friends by adding a "truth" component to the game, or by asking several guests to suggest songs and letting the singer pick from them.

Once everyone is warmed up, let the party continue naturally; the quickest way to kill a fun vibe is by being a controlling host. Encourage wallflowers to participate, and try to discourage microphone hogging; other than that, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Learn more about this author, Heather Russell.
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