Entertainment Tip: What Happened to Hannah

In What Happened To Hannah the heroine’s idea of throwing a birthday party was to dump the whole thing in a party planner’s lap and hope for the best.

When I entertain friends I clean and prep the day before. I do all the cooking myself — because I’m a wee bit of a control freak — the morning of the party. Later I set the food out, stand back and let my guests have at it … because I’m pooped.

Neither approach is a helpful or clever tip for entertaining so I went to a woman who, in my circle of friends, is the guru of all things tasteful and well thought-out. Her name is Mary Blayney and the following are hersuggestions:

*Always have the bar — with lots and lots of Sutter Home wine — ready at least an hour before guests arrive. Then if you have early birds they can have a drink while you get the rest organized.

*Every buffet should be served from two sides of the table — same with food stations.

*If you have a sit down dinner for 10 or more then you and the host should switch seats for dessert — it gives you a chance to interact with more of the guests.

*If you want people to mingle do not have tables where guests can sit and eat. Once people sit, they rarely move.

*Send flowers after the party — it’s a hassle for the hostess to stop and find water for the flowers while she is setting things up.

*A good way to start a conversation with a stranger: “What do you do when you’re not at a cocktail party (or whatever the event is)”

My tip Ask Mary.