How to Throw a co*cktail Party Like You’ve Been Doing It for Years (2024)

To make your life as the host easier, choose just one or two recipes that require cooking, and only one (if any!) that needs to be served hot. Look for recipes you can make in advance. Marinated cheese or spiced olives are great because you can make them a few days ahead; serve with fresh sliced bread from a local bakery for dunking in the flavorful oil. For one of the recipes you plan to cook, go for puff pastry—it’s decadent and fun and feels kind of retro, just like co*cktail parties. Make a batch of cheese straws or pinwheels. Both can be assembled the day before and baked right before your guests arrive. (Check out more of our best puff pastry hors d’oeuvres.)

Next, add one or two dishes that are assembly only, such as a custom snack mix. One of my go-to co*cktail party apps is a tried-and-true platter of crudités, primarily because it will satisfy basically every single possible dietary restriction: Just slice up a few of your favorite raw vegetables—or mix it up with a pile of blanched, shocked green beans or roasted asparagus spears next to a pile of crunchy cucumbers and jicama. You don’t need the whole produce section, just a small selection (even better if you pick a few things that are in season). Prepare all your vegetables before your guests arrive (it’s a good idea to have a stash of prepped veggies in the fridge as backup; if they don’t get eaten, you can turn them into a salad the next day). Don’t bother making a dip—just squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the veg and sprinkle a flavored salt mix (homemade or store-bought) over the top. That’s my favorite way to serve crudités, and much less messy. Here’s a recipe, but you can riff as you please.

The rest of the snacks should be entirely store-bought, but do me a favor and skip the cheese board. It may be cute starting out, but they get messy fast. If you must, put out one nice cheese—sliced in advance if it’s hard, alongside a spreader if it’s soft—and arrange it with some crackers. Or, assemble a platter of charcuterie and pickles. Don’t be afraid to think simple: a bowl of potato chips, or a dish of nuts will never disappoint. Consider adding a sweet treat somewhere in your spread, too, like chocolate-covered nuts, sliced fresh fruit, or a platter of bite-size cookies.

You don’t need a full bar.

A co*cktail party needs some co*cktails, but you don’t need to be prepared to serve every drink under the sun. Setting up a full bar costs a fortune, and you’d need a very well-versed (and well-paid) bartender to run it. Instead, pick two easy co*cktail recipes and stock up on everything you need to make a lot of those.

How to choose a signature drink:

To appeal to as many tastes as possible, I like to feature one co*cktail with a dark spirit like whiskey or aged rum, and one with a light spirit like blanco tequila or gin. Consider making a big-batch co*cktail in advance, preferably one that doesn’t involve too many ingredients and is make-ahead friendly (like an old-fashioned). A negroni is always a safe bet, as is a margarita, but if you think your guest might like something different, you can try a riff on a negroni or a seasonal take on a margarita—or choose a drink that may be totally unfamiliar to your guests.

Of course, you can never go wrong with a classic co*cktail like a manhattan or a martini; my personal favorite for parties is a 50-50 martini, which is lower in alcohol than the traditional kind (but, mind you, still plenty boozy).

Once you pick your signature co*cktails, do your math and plan accordingly: You want to have enough booze to serve at least three drinks per guest. In addition, stock your bar with one bottle of wine per every six guests, just in case. You should also have some beer on hand as well as seltzer and some nonalcoholic drinks. Put out a nonalcoholic mixer, like Ghia, that can be mixed with ice and seltzer, so guests abstaining from alcohol can mix up a spirit-free drink that still feels festive—or go ahead and make one of your signature drinks this alcohol-free punch.

Prep the drinks in advance.

Before the co*cktail party, premix big batches of your chosen drinks and pour them into pitchers. Have a backup container of each hiding in the fridge. Set the pitchers on the bar next to an ice bucket and alongside bowls of co*cktail garnishes so guests can help themselves. For larger parties where you won’t be standing nearby, make sure to label your drink pitchers.