Party Set-Up: A 1920s Themed Dinner Party

While this party will be relatively low-maintenance, there are a couple of things that you need to do before the event can get started:

• Drink and food prep
• Table set-up
• Pick your outfit

In tandem with the Prohibition theme, serve some old-fashioned Speakeasy cocktails. Two great options are the Tequila Sunrise and the Appletini. Both require few ingredients and are easy to mix.

• Tequila Sunrise
• 1 Part Orange Juice
• 2 Parts Tequila
• Splash of Grenadine
• Mix the orange juice and tequila together, add ice, and then splash in the grenadine, allowing it to trickle through.
• Appletini
• 2 oz Vodka
• 1/2 oz of Apple Juice or Cider  
• Ice cubes
• Combine all of these in a shaker. Shake and strain. You can use apple slices as garnish.

For more options, check this out 

What to eat? There's a really broad range of possibility here. One suggestion - mini/bite sized morsels. The consumption of Italian food was on the rise in the 20s so to begin - you can make some bite sized pizza.(If you don't want to start from scratch, Trade Joe's sells pizza dough). Next up, Caesar and Waldorf salad. And finally - finger sandwiches including peanut butter and jelly, turkey, chicken salad, tomato, egg salad, and/or cream cheese. While I'll usually enumerate the ingredients and instructions for you, there are so many appropriate food options for this event and more than anything else - I'd just recommend that you go with what you're comfortable making and like to eat. For more ideas, check this out. 




Table Set-Up

• Buffet and Bar: Seat your guests around a table and set up a buffet and bar for them to retrieve their food and drink. This will leave space on your table for the decorative centerpieces and will also give people a chance to move around and mingle. This is also great because it will prevent food from being wasted. If you're guest doesn't like mini-pizza, they wont take it. If you plate it for them, you run the risk of putting food on their plate that they don't want to eat, which will just land it in the trash. 

• Centerpieces:
• Antiques: If you have any antiques, this is a great chance to take them out and put them to use. I happen to have an antique typewriter that helped date the party back a few decades (even if it wasn't quite from the same 1920s).
• Pearls: They're a nice touch reminiscent of the flappers. If you have a faux pair, leave them on the table spilling out of a teacup or strewn across your antique item. Other fashion items like fedoras, pill box hats, and boas have the same vibe.                       
• Empty bottles: A great opportunity for reuse - remove the labels of your empty alcohol bottles, fill them with water, and stick flowers inside. Your bottles don't have to match one another - differences in height and shape make this arrangement eclectic and interesting.

• Explanation Cards: You've put effort into making your event green and 20s themed. Now make sure to TELL your guests. This goes back to the idea that parties are a great venue for you to share your values with your friends and family. So don't just display this, be explicit about it. Make cards out of recycled materials that you'll display next to the various green pieces of your party. They can be few and subtle, but their presence will be noticed and matter. For instance, take yesterday's newspaper, use a red marker, and write in script "Just because we're in the 20s' doesn't mean we can forget about 21st century environmental consciousness." Another one can read, "Food grown locally and transported home in reusable bags." And another, "Note the absence of throwaway decorations and dishes. Stay classy, skip the trash."

• Place Settings:
• Use dishes (NOT disposable paper-ware). This will reduce the amount of garbage you produce and will make the event more elegant. Don't have enough dishes for the number of guests you're having? Borrow from a friend. It's totally fine if you mix and match from different sets. If anything, that will add to the assorted decor and enhance your event. 
• You're probably thinking that cocktails should be served in the appropriate tall, martini, wine, or champagne classes, but I'm actually going to suggest something different. Remember, during Prohibition, it was illegal to sell alcohol. Therefore - store your cocktails in a teapot and serve them to your guests in opaque tea cups.(Not only does this add to the allure of the theme, but it also encourages the use of a utensil you're likely to already own - rather than encourage you to invest in some junky, disposable martini glasses). 

What is a host to wear?


Some basic ideas - flapper dresses, evening dresses, boas, long pearls, suits, black/white ties on black shirts, fedoras, gangster hats and jackets. Where oh where can you get this from?

Image from: Colourbox.com

 If you've got vintage (or a friend has something you can borrow), go for it! It's authentic, fun, and you wont spent money, time, or natural resources obtaining it. (No gas on your car ride to the store, no energy to produce the fabric, etc). Click here for some suggestions for the look you might go for. 

• If you want to shop, consider buying/borrowing. This is fashion forward recycling! Great resources include:
• i-ella.com (buy, borrow, or swap)
• ebay.com (you know what this is)
• renttherunway.com (designer dress rental)
• http://showroomfinder.com/ (A guide to local vintage shopping - great for those of you that prefer in-store to online shopping)

Some other details to consider:

• Assigned seating. This depends on how many people you're having, what your goals are, etc. If you decide to go the assigned route, make your assignments on yesterday's newspaper. Take one piece, cut it down so that it's the size of a regular piece of computer paper. Then fold it over 3 times as if you were going to to stuff it in an envelope. Instead, make it into a 3-D triangle so that it's propped up and easy to read. Write your guests name on it using a red marker and put it next to their plate. 
• Music: If you can provide live music or if you have a record player, those are great touches. If not, some downloaded tunes are great too. For suggestions on what to play, see here.  
• Coats:Think in advance about where you want your guests to leave their coats. If they're going in your closet- make sure you have enough space and hangers. Alternatively - just find a couch they can be tossed on. My point being - plan this ahead so that they aren't strewn around the dinner table.

Think through last minute details that might be particular to your event and guest list, be in touch if you have questions, and before you know it... EverGreen Hosts, you're ready to party!