You’re Ready to Party…But Are You Party Ready!?

The South Bay Foodies are a pack of party animals.  Ask us if we’re ready to party and we’ll be asking you “what time and where?” before you’re done asking the question!

However, we realize that even though many people are “ready to party”, a lot of folks are not “party ready”.  “But, Michael”, you ask, “how can I be party ready?”

So glad you asked!  Let’s start with a definition:

Party Ready – adj. A state of preparedness; Able to entertain, celebrate, and engage in general revelry within a moments notice;  May apply to a person, place, or thing.

So with that definition in mind, here are a few tips on being party ready.  We put these into practice this past Memorial Day.  Some of them will help you get your party started and others will show you how to keep the party going!

Before we get into the tips, I have to say thanks to our friends at Foodbuzz for helping us out with our party and inspiring us to be party ready.  We’re sharing this post as a part of the “Are You Party Ready” campaign that’s going on at Kelly Rippa’s website, Kelly Confidential.  Check out her site for more tips and info on being party ready.

Now let’s get partying!

#1 Set the Mood With Music

Before your guests even arrive, get into the party spirit with music.  Use your MP3 player or Internet radio stations to make a playlist that you and your friends will groove to.  Grooveshark and Pandora are great services for this.

With Grooveshark you you can make your playlists in advance or pick songs as you want to.  Maybe your friends will want to dance the Macarena!  Our guests got their kicks rocking out to “ET” by Katy Perry and “Run The World (Girls)” by Beyonce.  Listen for yourself while you read the rest of the tips!

With Pandora, you can make a custom radio station and a digital DJ will pick songs for you.  Getting the right music for your partying has never been so easy.

#2 Chill the Drinks First

Oh snap!  You’ve got company on the way and you have about an hour to get ready.  Get the drinks ready first!  That way you can sip on some cold beverages while you work on everything else if you run out of time.

Putting a few drinks in the freezer for a quick chill.

To make sure you can give your guests a cold beverage when they arrive, put a few drinks in the freezer to chill them quickly.  By the time they arrive, your previously room-temps drinks will be almost ice cold.

#3 Now’s Not the Time for Home Made.  Think “Ready Made” and “Ready Mixed”

As a foodie or gourmet, you might like to show off your kitchen skills when friends visit.  Now is not the time!  Instead go for ready made items like canned foods and pre-mixed drinks, adding just a touch of something fresh for that home-made feel.

For our party, we grilled chicken and burgers and made three sides to go with the meats.  Instead of making baked beans from scratch, we got a few cans of Bush’s and added some fresh onions to give a home-made touch.

Yes, we used beans from a can! And our party went over without a hitch.

Instead of getting out a bunch of juices and liquors for the bar, we opted for a pre-mixed margarita.  We used shakers with ice and added fresh squeezed lime juice for a cocktail that seem like we slaved over it.  Ha!

Premixed drinks are a great way to liven up the party. Plus you won't have to find a bartender on short notice!

Don’t forget the kids, either!  You can make a quick mocktail for them by mixing up some soda and a flavored lemonade.  We mixed Sprite Zero with Trader Joe’s Mango Lemonade.

The kids enjoyed a mocktail of Sprite Zero and Trader Joe's Mango Lemonade.

Not everything was pre-fabbed, though. Nicole whipped up some guacamole from scratch like it was nothing.

Nicole whipped up some home made guacamole like there was nothing to it.

#4 Use The Kids Lunch Snacks For Whimsical Treats!

If you have kids around, its likely you already have their lunch bag goodies on hand.  Use those to your advantage!  Your kid-less adult friends will enjoy reminiscing about their childhood while enjoying kid-friendly finger foods.

For our party, we stepped it up a notch with another tip: use what you have on hand.  We took the Oreos from the kids brown bag stash and covered them with melted chocolate chips!

We took an every day cookie -- Oreos -- and got all fancy by covering them in chocolate.

These babies didn't last very long!

#5 Put Your Guests to Work

Yes, don’t feel like you can’t make use of free labor from your friends.  Put them to work!  In our case, we had a friend melt the chocolate for the Oreos and then dip the cookies.  Things are so much easier when everyone lends a hand…even if its for a party at your house.

#6 Get Up and Move!

After having some drinks, dinner, or dessert, keep the party going by inviting your guests to get up and move.  You can keep the music loud and get into some karaoke and dancing, or turn the music down and get into an intense debate with a game like Taboo.

We got the crowd sweating with a heated dance-off with the video game Just Dance 2.  The kids were “serving” the grown-ups so we had to make some divisions based on skill but in the end everyone ended up getting a good work out and having fun.

After dinner and drinks everyone was getting jiggy with a game of Just Dance 2.

The next time you have guests over on short notice, make sure you are Party Ready!  Keep these tips handy and your last-minute-get-together will be swinging before you know it.

Thanks again to our friends at Foodbuzz for helping us out with our party and helping us share these tips with you.  Are you party ready!?