Hi Marty Richardson here, chefmartyrich.com. We are focusing on the holidays. I wanted to start with the Party Planning Checklist. There are six things on the list.

1. Pick a reason
2. Set the date
3. Determine your style
4. Invite your guests
5. Create the menu
6. Enjoy yourself.

So let’s go through these one at a time.

Pick a reason. It’s the holiday season. That’s a lot of reasons, but for entertaining in general, if you need to pick a reason why you are having a get together. This starts to set off a theme or concepts in your mind and that is very important for the continuity of your event.

Set the date. You want the day to be convenient for yourself and convenient for your guests. Three day weekends are wonderful. Obviously, you can do a lot more entertaining during the day on a long weekend. You’ve got prep time a day ahead of your party, and a clean up and rest day after. It makes hosting a lot more fun. Sunday night parties are difficult, if you have to get up for work in the morning, and Monday night parties can also be challenging. You don’t want to be out shopping and preparing things ahead of time on Sunday. But, maybe it is the only time you can. So, setting the date is important. And think about your guests as well.

Determining your style. Is your function going to be informal? Formal? Do you have a lot of time on your hands? Is it going to be a buffet? Is it going to be a sit down plated meal? What is your budget? How many guests are you going to have? These are all elements that determine what the style of your function is going to be.

Invite the guests. Start making a list, literally jot down names. Include some alternates in case some people on your list can’t make it. Then send out invitations. Now, I know, I know, I know you are going to say, “Why?” “I know all these people, they are my friends and relatives… I never do this!” But, it sets the tone for your event. We are trying to make a special event here. It starts with your guests receiving an invitation. You don’t have to go out and buy stationary. It can be a simple handwritten note. Stamps are still only 44 cents. The whole idea is to engage all the senses and making your party something very special.

Create your menu. If you have picked a reason, set a date, determined the style and invited your guests you are already molding your menu. All of these factors help to determine what you are going to serve. Do you have any vegetarians on your list, or people with other dietary concerns and whatnot? This is always something, myself as a private chef and butler, I am always trying to find out is a theme to the party. So all these answers start to help you determine what you are going to serve. The holidays are pretty easy, especially Thanksgiving. You’ve got a pretty traditional holiday here. Although I don’t always do things in a traditional fashion and you will find that out when we get to doing turkey and my menus around Thanksgiving. Believe me I have a Thanksgiving menu that you can do in a little over an hour. So stick around. We are going to talk about it all.

And the last thing, of course like I said, enjoy yourself. You are supposed to have fun at this event too. So it all comes down to planning. You’ve got plenty of time. But don’t blow it off. If you do it step by step by step then things are going to be easy on your big day.

Have a great day.