Hectic Host: God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman and Women: Stree Free Christmas Drinks.

‘Tis the season to be jolly and with that comes endless rounds of parties, it is more than likely that you will be hosting at least one before the year is out. The key to a successful party, as with any event, is to as keep of as simple as possible and to manage your guests' expectations. Make it clear from the outset what time they are expected, whether the evening will be casual or formal and what time things will wind down. How many times have you received an invitation and not known whether to eat before you go, what to wear or how long to book the babysitter for? 

Evening events basically break down into three types, 'Drinks', 'Dinner' and 'Party' or 'Party, Party' as I like to call them as in; 'Is it a party, party?' By far the most civilized, and least stressful option, is the first one; you have greater opportunity to enjoy your guests’ company without the worry of getting a full blown dinner ready and unlike a 'party, party' you can be relatively confident that your guests will have left by the time the kids get up in the morning!

Having a drinks party is also a better way to allow people from different groups to mingle in a more relaxed environment, particularly pertinent this time of year when you will be mixing friends, neighbours, colleagues, other parents etc. The only thing they will certainly have in common is you, so you need to make it easy for you to circulate and chat. 

A 'Drinks' party suggests 'pre-dinner' but you should always state a start and end time in your invitation, as in 'please come for drinks between 7 and 9 pm'. 

One of the biggest mistakes I made for the longest time was asking guests what they wanted to drink as they arrived. This resulted in countless mad, ventriloquist type exchanges in the kitchen looking for sherry I knew I did not have and many a seasonal wild goose chase to the Off License for a bottle of liquor I knew it did not stock. Now I offer guests a glass of champagne or cocktail as they arrive. Red wine is banned, any kind offering of such is graciously received but never opened. Wine Net Ltd is an independent Dulwich Wine Merchant that will deliver free to you door together with hired glasses. Call 07883 744 401.

You do not need an extensive drinks cabinet to keep the cocktails flowing; Martinis require just two ingredients. Today a classic Martini is three-parts gin to one-part vermouth. The dryer the Martini the greater the gin to vermouth ratio. Aficionados of a truly Dry Martini will just coat the inside of the glass with vermouth. 

Mix your ingredients in a tall glass with ice (a Martini should always be stirred not shaken as this will allow too much air into the mix) strain and serve. The key is not to allow any water into your mix so use large ice cubes and as they start to melt, drain them. A Martini must always be served with an olive and you will want to use one with a pit for maximum flavour, try the Olives at Mimosa on Half Moon Lane. Rinse your olives, otherwise a Dirty Martini is one which contains some of the olive brine. Crystal Martini glasses are £7.50 each from Roullier White. For a Vodka Martini simply substitute the gin.

For non-drinkers I have always found that Virgin Mimosas go down very well, being a lighter alternative to fruit juice. Simply mix one part freshly squeezed orange juice with one part organic lemonade from SMS Foods on Lordship Lane. You could stir in a seasonal sprinkle of cinnamon too. 

Merry Christmas!

Hectic Host appears monthly in SE Magazines.