Theme for a dream

Once you decide on a party with a theme, things start to fall into place on their own. You know what ambience to create, which cuisine to serve, what invites to send out and even what clothes to wear. But you have to keep certain things in mind. Most important being the venue — whether it’s a terrace, lawn, hall or a verandah and hall rolled in one. This will determine the number of people you invite, the age group of the guests, and lastly, the cost of the party.

Next on the list, is the invites you send. Follow the system of RSVP, as you can accordingly arrange and adjust the cocktails, food, entertainment and party favours. Call up and confirm who’s coming and who’s not. Get a fix on the numbers.

Your behind-the-scenes work is over. Not really. Choose a theme and let us help you plan the rest of the plot. There are a number of looks you can sport, for instance you could choose Polynesian or Hawaiian or Arabian Nights or Mexican. But let’s be really different. Choose your party based on the age of the guests you are entertaining. Right, then let the party begin.

Glorious 50

Draw inspiration from your country. As the nation turns 50, here’s your chance to five decades of Independence. And since the theme is homegrown, planning it is really easy.

Do up your party space in orange, white and green with satin drape work. Put up the national flag. Plan a walk through 50 years of Independence. Either you can put together 50 events that took place since 1947, or pick 50 events that happened throughout 1997.

The dress code should be regional Indian wear or anything that has shades of the Indian tricolour — orange, white and green. The host and hostess can dress in traditional outfits. Wear a Gandhi topi to receive your guests and give the same as party favours — that way all of you can really get in to the groove.

Food, again, can be regional — North, East, West or South. Some speciality dishes can be picked up from different cuisine and your table can have an identity that has a harmonious ethnic blend. Do the same for the music. You can either go in for nostalgic, old songs, depending on the crowd, or opt for re-mixed fusion music.

Go ahead, let your hair down the traditional way!

Naughty but nice

Alright, being old-fashioned is not your cup of tea. You are entertaining a mature lot of people with a bawdy, definitely risque sense of humour. In this crowd dirty jokes flow fast and furious and the alcohol is tippled at the same rate. However, keeping this band of merry men entertained, is not easy.

Well, hit the streets immediately. If the boys are looking for fun, then the girls can have all the fun just planning the fun. Go to Churchgate station, CST (VT for the old-timers) and Flora Fountain and pick up girlie magazines like Playboy and Debonair. Make sure the centrefold is intact. If it isn’t (and chances are that eager hands would’ve ripped it out) then buy provocative posters. Now remember, these aren’t on display at the footpath stalls but gentle questioning reveals a cornucopia of ills and evils.

Pin up your pin-up girls, make the dress code "bare and dare" and pull out that mini-skirt that you have been hiding. You still have the legs you used to, so here’s looking at you, babe.

The rest is easy. Get one of your friends to hide under the table and at the right time appear to pop out of the cake. Arrange for a girlfriend who doesn’t drink to play bartender — preferably in a bunny suit and if one of them volunteers to be a nautch girl, don’t say no. You can hire all these services but it’s so much more fun if the ladies pool in and party.

Since the entertainment will overshadow the party, just make sure the booze never runs out and that the food is good. Call any restaurant or caterer and order either a Thai or Italian meal.

Aloha, Teens!

Okay, so your parents will not allow you to go for the bad girls theme. You can still have a blast. Think Aloha. Go in for the Hawaiian theme if you have an open-air venue. You do? Great, then send the invites on a coconut. Stick a cocktail umbrella in the coconut of your choice and string a tiny invitation — your guests should get a clear picture of what to wear. Then decorate the place by liberally sprinkling lots of artificial plants, flowers and wax fruits. Make sure no one gets that drunk that they try and take a bite out of your fake fruit.

Then make a grass skirt with lots of green crepe paper, attached to a pair of bicycling shorts — even if you lose a leaf of two, you will be well covered. A tube top is easy to find. Wear a straw hat and give every guest one too. Also garland them with crepe paper maalas and your festive look is fit and fine.

To enhance the mood, get a DJ, otherwise you will waste your evening flipping CDs. Or, arrange for two serenaders to sing Hawaiian songs as they move through the party. For the food, either order Hawaiian or cheat and serve lots of fresh salad and fruit — don’t forget to put pineapples in everything!

Super hero party
(ages four to 10)

Now your kids are clamouring for a share of the fun and demanding their own party. Here’s a simple quick-to-put-together solution. Stress on super heroes — the world according to Batman, Superman, Phantom or Spiderman. Make a collage of super heroes and send out the invites scribbled on these. If you have the energy, scan a photograph of your child with his friends and morph it with a super hero on a T-shirt. Send this as an invite and watch those kids pile in through the door.

Next, create a home for your super hero. A jungle for Phantom or buildings to climb on for Spiderman. If you cannot do that, an imaginative use of crushed foil, scrap paper and lights will do the trick. Cut and paint logos of the characters on thermocol and stick it up. Don’t forget the balloons but stick to a colour code — blue and red for Spiderman, purple and yellow for Phantom and red and blue for Superman.

Get the children’s fathers to don super hero costumes and join in the fun. And then concentrate on food. The cake can be a super hero. The food should be simple and non-spicy but should have interesting names like Three Blind Mice, Mr Freezes’ Delight, Robin’s Armour — something to do with the characters. You can even buy cookies and chocolates in the shape of animals and birds. Don’t forget the French fries.

For the back presents, go to Crawford market and pick up stuff with super hero logos.

Now that the final item has been ticked off your list,don your party shoes and put your feet up — on the nearest table and dance the night away!