It's Five O'Clock Somewhere ...

To help you prepare for that joyful time (maybe you're able to celebrate Mother's Day this weekend with family!), here are our top three cocktail party 101 tips for you to follow to be comfortable and confident because you'll know what to do and do it well! These tips will also help you look refined and elegant as you celebrate new beginnings!

Tip Number 1. Dress for the occasion. And make it an occasion. As Catherine says, "if you don't make it special no one else will either." So put on a nice, flattering outfit so you look good - and one that will help you feel good too. When you feel good you will attract the positive energy of others. Your good mood will be a force multiplier of fun. How marvelous is that? So put on your favorite fragrance. Make sure your hair is neat and styled. We always feel better with earrings, lipstick and a smile. But remember to lightly blot your lips (even if only wearing chapstick) so you don't make big, ugly, greasy marks on your drinking glass. And drink from the same spot on the glass to help keep lip marks to a minimum.

Tip Number 2. Handle your glassware with refinement. Wine and champagne and prosecco are often served in stemmed glasses. Glasses with a stem are to be held by the stem not the bowl of the glass. Holding a glass this way avoids distracting finger prints on the glass and helps keep your beverage from being warmed by your hand. Who likes unintentionally warm drinks - ugh? The lower down the stem you hold your glass the more refined you look. Don't forget to take a cocktail napkin (and hold it & the glass in the same hand) or use a coaster. If your glass has a garnish on the rim remove it and place it inside the glass before you drink. One does not properly drink from a glass with a garnish on the rim.

Tip Number 3. Elegantly eat hors d'oeuvres by taking small bites and chewing with your mouth closed. Yes, hors d'oeuvres are generally one-bite appetizers but sometimes larger ones are served. Avoid messy foods if at all possible. Food should not travel from the communal platter/serving dish straight into your mouth. That is a no-no. Instead, place your hors d'oeuvre on a small plate (if provided) or into your cocktail napkin. Then you may convey the food to your mouth and eat. This keeps you from looking rushed and gluttonous. Use this method when eating even just a handful of nuts, olives, cheese slices, crackers, hot hors d'oeuvres, vegetable sticks, - you get the idea, for anything and everything served during a cocktail party.

Throw away overly soiled paper cocktail napkins (as well as used toothpicks) or look for the disposal bin for soiled linen ones - don't throw linen away!! And take a new, pristine napkin. Whatever you do, don't abandoned a used napkin on the buffet table. We saw someone do that once - so unappetizing. Sigh!

Cheers to festive cocktail parties on the horizon! Enjoy!