Last week I attended a party sponsored by Ocean Spray at the Crosby Street Hotel. The mixer was held to introduce Ocean Spray’s new Cranberry Juice Cocktail with Lime, Superfruit 100% Juice and Sparkling Juice Drinks. I especially liked the last option and I walked away thinking, “Recreating this type of event would be pretty simple. I need to do this for a group of my close girlfriends soon.” So, below are five things that I would include in a “Manicures and Mixed Drinks” party:
1. A great setting: Soho’s Crosby Street Hotel was a beautiful place to hold the event. The room that we met in had beautiful décor and “interesting” wallpaper. (I overheard several people discussing it. There wasn’t a consensus regarding whether we loved it or not, but it was definitely a conversation starter.)
2. Small, bite-sized appetizers: Head Chef of the Crosby Street Hotel, Anthony Paris, prepared several great hors d’oeuvres. Unfortunately, his shift was over so I couldn’t ask him for any of the recipes. At least I have some ideas to get me started though!
3. A variety of refreshing fruity drinks: Some of my friends don’t like the taste of alcohol while others are fine with it. That’s why it’s important to serve a mixture of drinks. I actually had one cocktail…the Pink Pineapple Dream. It had a sweet, fruity taste so it was perfect for me. Below is the recipe:
PINK PINEAPPLE DREAM
Recipe Courtesy of Ocean Spray
Makes 1 serving
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup pineapple juice, chilled
2 ounces light rum
1 8.4-ounce can Ocean Spray® Sparkling Juice Drink, any flavor, chilled
Fresh pineapple wedge, garnish
Maraschino cherry, garnish
DIRECTIONS:
Combine pineapple juice and rum in a tall glass filled with ice. Pour in Sparkling Juice Drink. Garnish with pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry, if desired.
(You can also find more recipe ideas from Ocean Spray at www.oceanspray.com/recipes. )
4. A manicure station stocked with bright, colorful polishes: I would either hire a few manicurists or have my friends take turns giving each other manicures. (It would depend on how formal the event was and also whether the groups of invited friends were already bonded with one another.) To keep things simple, I could also just offer polish changes rather than full manicures. I normally only wear bright polishes on my toenails, but I tried Essie’s Turks and Caicos (the “Red Red Lime”/a bright greenish blue) this time. Sean proclaimed, “I love that color on you! They make you look prettier than a princess.” I’ll take that!
5. Small parting gifts: There was a really cute pedicure set and an Essie nail polish in the parting gift. Initially, I thought, “Who can I give this to? Who would really like this?” Then, I realized that I needed a pedicure set, so I’m keeping it. (I checked and they are on sale at Sephora right now, so this would be a good time to stock up!)
Image courtesy of Sephora
There are constantly various groups of friends coming in and out of my home, so it’s good to have a variety of ideas to keep “mixing up” the gatherings. Do you have any special parties (big or small) planned for the next few months? If so, what do you do to make them special?