I could always go the way of The Amazing Plate Caddy, but something tells me I can balance it all in style.

Plates n’ Glasses

These 2 plates not only balance your tidbits, but they mind your drink as well.

Although this 12 piece set is currently out of stock, it’s worth a mention. This colorful plate and glass set not only makes it easy to wine and dine, but it makes identification easy as well. The plates look to be on the larger side so you can make sure to get a sample of everything on the first trip to the buffet.

These plates work with your own “standard” wine glasses. These plates give a rustic look, perfect for an afternoon of wine and cheese. Pair these plates with this Servingware. They are on the small side (I mean, they are supposed to fit on top of a wine glass) and can only fit a few slivers of cheese, some grapes and olives. To be fair, they are for appetizers, not the meal.

Good Grips

These plates are sans glass, but they make holding on to your grub a bit easier with their smart design. These plates are of ample size for more than a few canapés.

Update
While in the middle of this post, I received my Napa Style catalog and discovered that they had a few different types of plates available. Here is a wooden design in appetizer and dinner sizes. This plate is currently not for sale, but it still worth a mention. The ceramic plates, in creme and orange are available in sets of 4.

Home Wet Bar also has styles that hold you glass in wood and plastic. There are also these plates that sit on top of of your glass for your jungle theme.

It looks like everyone is having shindigs these days. I really can’t blame them, what better way to pass the day/afternoon/evening, than with food and drinks and friends?

Invitations

I think that a tea party deserves something a bit more formal than my usual evite invitation.  Due to the time involved searching for just the right accessories, I’ll have the forethought covered, and because of the smaller gathering, I’ll have the cost covered as well.  Mailed invitations it is!  While the following invitation doesn’t scream refinement, I had to include some of my kitchness into the event.  These teapot invitations from Plum Party are fun and are the perfect price at $16.00 for a box of 10.

Menu and Serving

This is where the fun part comes in, the prepping and presentation of the food and drink.  At Amelia’s Teas and Holly we were served our own teapots of their loose tea in dainty tea cups, some atop saucers, and some atop of a snack set plate.  These vintage snack sets are practical and quaint and are perfect for dainty treats.  If you aren’t familiar with how to properly prepare loose tea, you can always go the route of the traditional teabag.  The tea from  Tea Forte not only has a great taste, but a different look.  If the snack sets are too traditional for you, Tea Forts also provides various contemporary tea service sets.  Their Dolce Vita collection provides an updated service for your tea party that still demands a sense of decorum.

Our meals were served on vintage 3-tiered desert stands; each tier filled with mini crusttless sandwiches, scones, quiche, pettifours and truffles.  You can switch out the mini crust-less sandwiches for other savory bites such as Pasta Frittatas or Mini Crab and Lime Quiches.  Swap out the pettifours for Goat Cheese and Apple Tarts or Peach and Almond Strudels.  No need to switch out the truffles, there is no substitution for chocolate.  All of the recipes can be found in one of my favorite appetizer cookbooks, The Essential Appetizers Cookbook.

Accessories

Lace tablecloths, linen napkins, and fresh flowers is all that is necessary.  However, for something fun and slightly less formal, try these low key cocktail napkins from Plum Party and this tea cosy from Eden & Eden to add some lightness to the formalness of it all.

Just like  fondue, a successful tea party depends on a good mix of conversation that will sustain several pots of tea.

Menu and Serving

The menu is quite simple.  I created a platter of Old Bay shrimp, Jamaican spiced chicken, and soy marinated beef on a large platter separated by celery stalks. The veggies included baby potatoes, baby carrots, mushroom caps, and broccoli florets. The fondue was a broth fondue made with equal parts soy sauce and chicken broth.  I have heard this recipe is killer with Saki instead of the broth that I have to try sometime.

The fondue set I used is by Trudeau.  It is similar to the one pictured below;  it has pots for both broth/oil and cheese/chocolate fondue.  Regular dinner plates were used, but these fondue plates I will have to keep on mind for next time.  I am continuing to increase my inventory of serving ware, but when you are with friends, anything is suitable.

Drinks included selections from Moore Brothers Wine Company.  The one big hit of the night was a Beaujolais-Villages from Georges Trichard.  It’s a part of my Moore Brothers wine portfolio and I have to make a point of returning and picking up a few more bottles for the next shindig.  The wine glasses I used were from Michael Chiarello’s line, Napa Style.  I had been coveting the Venetian Style Wine Tumblers for some time and finally had a chance to use them for this informal gathering.

Accessories

The great thing about fondue is, the accessories needed are limited.  Everything needed is included in the fondue set, all that is really necessary are the people.  A selection of dippers that I used included cocktail sauce, barbecue sauce, Sirrachi sauce, spinach dip, vegetable dip, and hummus.  A mini bamboo strainer made for quick retrieval of meat and veggies that fell off the skewers and a tablecloth for quick tabletop cleanup.

A fondue shindig is definitely something on the smaller scale, the amount of food included.  I seemed to have cut up enough food for an army, and had leftovers for General Tso’s Chicken,  Shrimp Scampi, and Beef Stroganoff.  Sometimes the food is secondary when you are having such a good time with friends.

A housewarming might be one of the most stressful parties you’ll throw.  Between this being the first major event in your home and you still being in some stage of unpacking, it can be overwhelming.  Also, chances are, if you are anything like me, you might not have a ton of entertaining items to properly host an event, not to mention enough time to prepare enough food for family and friends.  It’s understandable, you did just move!  So let’s make it easy on ourselves, shall we?

Invitations

While mailed invitations are a nice surprise for guests, they are an expense and do take some forethought.  You can save these great return address labels  from horchow.com which are much more stylish than the labels you find in the coupon ads.    Time and money might not be something you have an abundance of at the moment, so my favorite invitations site is evite.com.  Not only does the site let you choose from a number of its themed templates, you can also design your own.  Not only can you can easily manage your guest list and inform them of changes, but you can also take polls and and even request that guests help out with the spread.  Which brings me to the next topic.

Menu and Serving

There is nothing wrong with having a potluck for your first shindig.  Order some chicken and a pasta salad or a fruit and veggie tray for your contribution to the event and have your guests help out with the rest.  Another way to personalize the day is to have each guest include the recipe for the dish they made so you can incorporate it into a custom cookbook.  Your friends and family supply the recipes and tastebook.com will produce the cookbook.

You can lighten your load even more by using paper and plastic products.  There is some plastic ware out there that at fist glance you’d swear was silver.  Find your luxury, inexpensive dinnerware at dontdodishes.com.

Decorations and Accessories

Your entertaining decoration and accessories may be lost in a jumble of boxes, or if this is your first move, you haven’t yet started acquiring items.  No need to worry.  At a housewarming people are more interested in the new space rather than the stuff inside.  Besides, it’s a chance to add some great basics to your registry.  Glasses are versatile and can go from mixed drinks to juice cocktails.  A clean profile an good grip make these inexpensive items ones that will last for many events to come.  Chip and dip trays can be used for chips, fruit, vegetable, and nuts.  The one, two, and four sectioned choices below should provide enough options for any size and style of party.  Below are a few selections from two very accessible retailers.  Once you have some dollars saved you can start to add appetizer plates and serving trays to your inventory.

curved and comforable

classic and crisp

fun and colorful

1 section in glass

4 sections in wood

2 sections in porcelain

After it is all said and done, the main thing is to enjoy yourself.  If you are starting over or starting out for the first time; your finally home and that is really something to celebrate.