Elegant Parties - Cocktail Party

Out of all the parties, the cocktail party is one of my favourites, especially one that precedes the elegant dinner party.

Cocktail parties are light-hearted, fun gatherings where one can be glamourously attired yet feel at ease with its casual, relaxed atmosphere. They make great environments for conversation especially when guests have delicious drinks in their hands. These elegant parties are great for catching up with a bunch of friends all at once, as well as a great place to get to meet new people. You are free to move around and mingle too.

Of course, the ladies like it because they get a chance to wear their pretty cocktail dresses that they may have saved for elegant occasions like this. Because a cocktail party is meant for mingling, most people stand up and hold their drinks and talk.

The Cocktail Party

Most cocktail parties start at 6 or after work. They can range to a size of fifteen to a hundred people.

The cocktail party is usually a lighter, more flexible affair than the dinner party.

It's about stand up, mingling and socializing, not sit down, be stuck in one corner and be served. So don't be a poor guest, lest you do not get invited the next time.

It is not recommended that you bring a guest without first asking a host. Though in some the cocktail parties, it does not matter if guests bring an extra guest.

It's not about the food, and there's music, ambience, wonderful conversation. There's some chemistry about a cocktail party.

The Cocktail

A cocktail is a mixed drink with a spirit base. It was traditionally served before the sun goes down.

Cocktails were at its height of popularity from the 1920s-1930s. It is still a popular drink served from cocktail hour (before dinner) until the wee hours in the night. You can order a cocktail almost anywhere now, from a bar to a hotel lounge, clubs and even in some restaurants. Traditionally, cocktails now has lost its glitz and glamour as it was in the 1920s - 1930s.

As Princess Diana, Paull Burrell says in his book, In the Royal Manner he writes about cocktail parties,

"There is something rather decadent and yet attractive about cocktail hour. Visions of men in black ties and ladies wearing spectacular gowns come to mind. Even Scarlett O'Hara can be witnessed sipping a Mint Julep in Gone with the Wind. This concoction of sugar syrup mixed with bourbon and garnished with mint is still served today, and is traditionally linked with the Kentucky Derby."

What To Serve at A Cocktail Party