Entertainment Tip: Bond Girl
In my novel Bond Girl, Alex, the heroine, is usually frantically running around trying to juggle a demanding job, a hectic social life, and a potential love interest, so she doesn’t have a whole lot of time to entertain, though I think she’d wish she did! What’s more, she lives in a tiny New York City apartment and barely has enough space to fit her bedroom furniture, so having a party would require a little creativity.
Entertaining in small spaces can be daunting, and a lot of people will shy away from the opportunity because they’re afraid they won’t have the room to fit their guests comfortably. I’ve been there myself, and have found that a small room can be a great place to entertain. Invite close friends who don’t mind snuggling up on the couch together—it’s so much easier to catch up with people when you don’t have to look through multiple rooms to find them—and keep the food casual. Most people love a cocktail party with easy appetizers (store-bought is nothing to be ashamed of if you don’t have the time or desire to cook. I don’t know many people who ever found a cheese and cracker platter or a bowl of chips and guacamole they didn’t love!) Finger foods will keep the vibe casual, and it won’t matter that you don’t have matching dishes or a dining table that seats twelve. I also keep a small collapsible card table under my bed for holiday parties or special occasions where I think it would be nice to set up a proper bar. It stores easily, takes up no space, and once you throw a table cloth on it, no one will know that it’s a cork table with fold up legs you bought for twenty bucks online.
And since I believe that the last impression is just as important as the first, I like to send guests home with little favors at the end of the night. Snow man coffee mugs containing small bags of mini marshmallows in winter, cellophane bags of jellybeans in spring, pumpkin shaped cookie cutters in fall. I found that these small thoughtful gestures really make a difference, and people will be so impressed with your generous (but inexpensive) parting gift, no one will remember that you actually didn’t cook a single thing!
