Planning a wine and cheese (or any other holiday fundraiser) in 10 Easy(?) Steps
As promised, as part of the lead up to Taking Off The Taboo’s first fundraising event, I’m posting some ideas on how to plan your own holiday wine and cheese. If you decide to turn it in to a fundraiser too, that’s great! The CMHA always welcomes donations, and the link to Taking Off The Taboo’s donation site is below, but there are many other worthwhile causes you can also consider. There are many ways to give back to your community with any holiday gathering you were already planning having. Why not ask people to bring non-perishable food items for your local food bank to your open house party? Or if having a ladies night in, why not collect $10 from each guest to donate to the local women’s shelter or Toys for Tots? Donating to a worthy cause doesn’t have to be complicated or elaborately planned – at this time of year especially, people are looking for ways to be charitable, let them do it at your house!
So I’m no party planning expert, but have thrown my share of social events - shindigs, parties, soirees – whatever you may call them. I’ve even tried to combine these evenings of indulgence with a dash of philanthropy, but never before planned something so formal in my home. And I most certainly have never tried to explain how to do this, step by step – I am a big proponent of just “winging it” for the most part. In the spirit of trying new things this year, I have devised a (somewhat) simple 10 step process on how to host your own holiday Wine and Cheese – a great way to get people together for a good cause, and a good time! To be honest, most of these ideas have come from my own experience and various internet sources, and are by no means a complete set of instructions. Your size of party may vary, and to be honest, a proper wine and cheese tasting probably works with a smaller group – apparently 8 is optimal, but obviously not as good for fundraising! The party I’m planning will be a little less about the wine and the cheese and more about the social setting than true oenophiles might like, but you can change any of this to cater to your potential guest list. If it’s too busy or too late this holiday season to get something organized, keep this in mind for another time of year – wine and cheese is always good!
A disclaimer: this little planner is meant for hosting a party in your own home. Liquor laws vary from place to place, but almost nowhere can you actually sell alcohol without a special events permit, so you probably shouldn’t try to charge for individual drinks. Investigate your local regulations before you begin planning! When serving alcohol in your home, you are required by law to be a responsible host – make sure you serve food and non-alcoholic beverages as well; be prepared for people to spend the night, or arrange designated drivers or taxis for guests who have consumed too much. Many communities now have Operation Red Nose, a free service that collects you and your car from the party and gets both to your home safely. There are some excellent tips and checklists from the LCBO to help get you started at www.deflatetheelephant.com Please drink and serve responsibly!
As promised, as part of the lead up to Taking Off The Taboo’s first fundraising event, I’m posting some ideas on how to plan your own holiday wine and cheese. If you decide to turn it in to a fundraiser too, that’s great! The CMHA always welcomes donations, and the link to Taking Off The Taboo’s donation site is below, but there are many other worthwhile causes you can also consider. There are many ways to give back to your community with any holiday gathering you were already planning having. Why not ask people to bring non-perishable food items for your local food bank to your open house party? Or if having a ladies night in, why not collect $10 from each guest to donate to the local women’s shelter or Toys for Tots? Donating to a worthy cause doesn’t have to be complicated or elaborately planned – at this time of year especially, people are looking for ways to be charitable, let them do it at your house!
So I’m no party planning expert, but have thrown my share of social events - shindigs, parties, soirees – whatever you may call them. I’ve even tried to combine these evenings of indulgence with a dash of philanthropy, but never before planned something so formal in my home. And I most certainly have never tried to explain how to do this, step by step – I am a big proponent of just “winging it” for the most part. In the spirit of trying new things this year, I have devised a (somewhat) simple 10 step process on how to host your own holiday Wine and Cheese – a great way to get people together for a good cause, and a good time! To be honest, most of these ideas have come from my own experience and various internet sources, and are by no means a complete set of instructions. Your size of party may vary, and to be honest, a proper wine and cheese tasting probably works with a smaller group – apparently 8 is optimal, but obviously not as good for fundraising! The party I’m planning will be a little less about the wine and the cheese and more about the social setting than true oenophiles might like, but you can change any of this to cater to your potential guest list. If it’s too busy or too late this holiday season to get something organized, keep this in mind for another time of year – wine and cheese is always good!
A disclaimer: this little planner is meant for hosting a party in your own home. Liquor laws vary from place to place, but almost nowhere can you actually sell alcohol without a special events permit, so you probably shouldn’t try to charge for individual drinks. Investigate your local regulations before you begin planning! When serving alcohol in your home, you are required by law to be a responsible host – make sure you serve food and non-alcoholic beverages as well; be prepared for people to spend the night, or arrange designated drivers or taxis for guests who have consumed too much. Many communities now have Operation Red Nose, a free service that collects you and your car from the party and gets both to your home safely. There are some excellent tips and checklists from the LCBO to help get you started at www.deflatetheelephant.com Please drink and serve responsibly!
Here goes... 10 steps to having a good night for a good cause!
1. The obvious: Decide on the cause
If you haven’t picked one, why not the CMHA? If something else is close to your heart, do that! Make sure it’s something you actually feel strongly about – you’re much more likely to get people to donate money if you have a personal connection to the cause, or at the very least can speak somewhat passionately as to why people should fork over their cash to come to your event.
2. Decide on a theme (and at the same time, the size & budget for your party)
Wine and cheese; girls night in; murder mystery dinner: poker night - there are many options for “fun”-draisers. Or if you don’t want to (or have the time to) organize a formal event, you can ask people coming to your party to raid their cupboards and bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank, or bring an unwrapped toy for the local toy drive. Come up with a ticket price you think your crowd can handle. Depending on your situation, you may elect to cover the cost of wine and food yourself, or have the ticket price cover some or all of your costs, which of course leaves less for the charity. Either way, it’s important to know how much you’re willing to spend to put this together, and to be up front with guests about where their money is going.
Depending on your crowd, and if you’d like this to be a regular old party after the fancy wine part is done, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask people to bring their own alcohol that they’ll drink outside of the wine tasting. Especially if you haven’t factored the cost of the alcohol into your ticket price, it’s important not to overextend yourself. If you have a more, um, financially established group of friends and are charging a higher ticket price, or smaller group, and you want to supply their booze, that’s totally fine, just make sure you are prepared for the extra cost. And of course, let your guests know what to expect – there’s nothing wrong with being up front about how the evening is going to work.
Also don’t forget extra costs like decorations and prizes, depending on your event. Door prizes or giveaways are a great way to add some fun to the evening – people like feeling that they are getting something for their money (besides the obvious wine, cheese, and good feeling for donating to a good cause, of course), but don’t get carried away – especially with a smaller event, it’s really not necessary. These are your friends, and they hopefully want to support your cause without getting free stuff out of it. Having said that, a giveaway is always nice. For this particular event for example, we’ll be having people vote on which wine they like the best, and write their names on a piece of paper to put in a hat. A name will be drawn from each hat, and the winner will get a bottle of said wine. Nothing extravagant, but something for people to look forward to going home with! With a larger event, you could do a 50-50 draw (people love those things) or a raffle for a donated larger prize if you want.
3. Pick the date
‘Tis the season for company Christmas functions, and family gatherings, so plan ahead. I know, I’m not helping by doing this so late, but my crowd happens to be a group of people who often can’t do weekends, and who, due to uncertain schedules, usually can’t commit until fairly last minute anyway! The holidays fill up fast for people, so if you are planning something for this year, get on a date, pronto! And expect that by now, weekends in December are already full for people. Maybe a post holiday blahs party would work better for you. And hey, I’ve never been opposed to a good old fashioned Tuesday night party, so figure out what works!
4. Make a guest list
Are you inviting everyone you know, or just a handful of close friends? How many people can you realistically host in your space? Do you have close friends who are willing to help you in preparing, and on the night of? This is probably more important than anything – you will need help, so ask for it now. Knowing how to delegate will be a helpful skill in planning the event!
And now that you have the date and the guests, send out the invitations! Facebook is one way to do it, and a great way to get your news out to a large number of people, especially if you have a seriously outdated e-mail contact list as I do! The drawback is that you often have lots of “maybes” and many people who don’t answer one way or the other, even if they’re planning on coming, so if firm numbers are important (and they usually are when planning for food and wine!), consider using e-mail or an online invitation service like E-vite, or better yet, for smaller groups, get good old fashioned paper invitations together.
Ask people to RSVP by a date that’s comfortable for you as far as preparation is concerned – I personally don’t mind shopping and leaving things til the last minute, but if you want some advance warning on how many hordes of people you’re expecting, it’s fair to give an “RSVP by” date.
Also if you’re planning a formal tasting, make sure you indicate that punctuality to the function is important to get the whole experience. Maybe have a time that the tasting starts so people know they can wander in up to a certain point, but after that, their fashionable lateness will cost them some wine!
1. The obvious: Decide on the cause
If you haven’t picked one, why not the CMHA? If something else is close to your heart, do that! Make sure it’s something you actually feel strongly about – you’re much more likely to get people to donate money if you have a personal connection to the cause, or at the very least can speak somewhat passionately as to why people should fork over their cash to come to your event.
2. Decide on a theme (and at the same time, the size & budget for your party)
Wine and cheese; girls night in; murder mystery dinner: poker night - there are many options for “fun”-draisers. Or if you don’t want to (or have the time to) organize a formal event, you can ask people coming to your party to raid their cupboards and bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank, or bring an unwrapped toy for the local toy drive. Come up with a ticket price you think your crowd can handle. Depending on your situation, you may elect to cover the cost of wine and food yourself, or have the ticket price cover some or all of your costs, which of course leaves less for the charity. Either way, it’s important to know how much you’re willing to spend to put this together, and to be up front with guests about where their money is going.
Depending on your crowd, and if you’d like this to be a regular old party after the fancy wine part is done, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask people to bring their own alcohol that they’ll drink outside of the wine tasting. Especially if you haven’t factored the cost of the alcohol into your ticket price, it’s important not to overextend yourself. If you have a more, um, financially established group of friends and are charging a higher ticket price, or smaller group, and you want to supply their booze, that’s totally fine, just make sure you are prepared for the extra cost. And of course, let your guests know what to expect – there’s nothing wrong with being up front about how the evening is going to work.
Also don’t forget extra costs like decorations and prizes, depending on your event. Door prizes or giveaways are a great way to add some fun to the evening – people like feeling that they are getting something for their money (besides the obvious wine, cheese, and good feeling for donating to a good cause, of course), but don’t get carried away – especially with a smaller event, it’s really not necessary. These are your friends, and they hopefully want to support your cause without getting free stuff out of it. Having said that, a giveaway is always nice. For this particular event for example, we’ll be having people vote on which wine they like the best, and write their names on a piece of paper to put in a hat. A name will be drawn from each hat, and the winner will get a bottle of said wine. Nothing extravagant, but something for people to look forward to going home with! With a larger event, you could do a 50-50 draw (people love those things) or a raffle for a donated larger prize if you want.
3. Pick the date
‘Tis the season for company Christmas functions, and family gatherings, so plan ahead. I know, I’m not helping by doing this so late, but my crowd happens to be a group of people who often can’t do weekends, and who, due to uncertain schedules, usually can’t commit until fairly last minute anyway! The holidays fill up fast for people, so if you are planning something for this year, get on a date, pronto! And expect that by now, weekends in December are already full for people. Maybe a post holiday blahs party would work better for you. And hey, I’ve never been opposed to a good old fashioned Tuesday night party, so figure out what works!
4. Make a guest list
Are you inviting everyone you know, or just a handful of close friends? How many people can you realistically host in your space? Do you have close friends who are willing to help you in preparing, and on the night of? This is probably more important than anything – you will need help, so ask for it now. Knowing how to delegate will be a helpful skill in planning the event!
And now that you have the date and the guests, send out the invitations! Facebook is one way to do it, and a great way to get your news out to a large number of people, especially if you have a seriously outdated e-mail contact list as I do! The drawback is that you often have lots of “maybes” and many people who don’t answer one way or the other, even if they’re planning on coming, so if firm numbers are important (and they usually are when planning for food and wine!), consider using e-mail or an online invitation service like E-vite, or better yet, for smaller groups, get good old fashioned paper invitations together.
Ask people to RSVP by a date that’s comfortable for you as far as preparation is concerned – I personally don’t mind shopping and leaving things til the last minute, but if you want some advance warning on how many hordes of people you’re expecting, it’s fair to give an “RSVP by” date.
Also if you’re planning a formal tasting, make sure you indicate that punctuality to the function is important to get the whole experience. Maybe have a time that the tasting starts so people know they can wander in up to a certain point, but after that, their fashionable lateness will cost them some wine!
5. Decide on a Menu
Here’s the fun part – the food! And the drink!
If doing a wine and cheese, decide whether you want to centre the evening on the wine, or on the cheese. In either case, it’s a good idea to have a theme – for example, all goat cheeses, or all cheeses from a particular region. Or if focusing on the wine, you could choose a particular country to focus on, or do a comparison on the same grape from different vineyards, or old world versus new world, for example. Once you’ve picked which way around you’re going to do it, use that wonderful internet tool to find the wines or cheeses that pair well with the cheeses or wines you’ve selected. If you live in a smaller community, keep in mind that some of the more exotic cheeses you find on the internet may not be available, so research what you can source locally. Make sure however, that you branch out a bit from your typical bries and cheddars and the standard table wines that everyone has tried – part of the fun of the party will be trying new things!
Depending on the size of your group 4-6 different wines is ideal for a good sampling. In doing your planning, keep this in mind: it’s a wine tasting, not a wine gulping, so don’t plan on providing a bottle for each of your wino friends – the cost will quickly add up. The standard wine tasting size is 2-3 oz or 60-90 mL, so you should be able to get at least 8 tastings from the average 750 mL bottle of wine.
Remember too that the LCBO takes back unopened wine within 30 days with receipt, so if you’re not sure, overbuying doesn’t hurt. Plus, if you like the wine, having extra bottles in your cellar after the party isn’t such a bad thing!
You’ll need plenty of plain water and unflavoured crackers on hand as well, to cleanse people’s palates between wines. A couple of strategically placed, large decorative buckets to rinse glasses in to are a way to keep people out of your kitchen prep area.
Also have other appetizers and snacks on hand to help absorb the wine, and get guests moving about the room and mingling. Fresh and dried fruit also goes well with wine and cheese, looks beautiful, and is easy to prepare. Don’t overwork yourself though – a few extra dishes is plenty, and again, get your friends to bring their famous crab dip or legendary meatballs.
‘Tis the season for Christmas baking too, so have people bring some extra if they can spare it, and don’t bother with an elaborate dessert – Christmas cookies are the perfect sweets for the event. Having said that, dark chocolate also pairs well with wine, so if you can get your hands on some good quality stuff, no one will complain!
Whatever you decide, make sure you’re specific about the dishes you’re going to make, and write them down, ingredients and all –this will make it much easier when it comes time to make your shopping list!
6. Now Make a regular old list – the “To Do” variety
Now that the bulk of the big stuff is planned, it’s time to make some more lists. I like to set a master list on paper that I can check off, but I’m old school like that – do whatever works for you. Make sure it includes all the big stuff you’ve already decided on and all little details you think of as you go along. I also like to make a master shopping list – both for groceries and for decorations and the like – and a list of things I can ask other people to help me with.
Now’s also the time to figure out how exactly you want to run the event, and some activities will require more organization than others. A horseshoe tournament, for example, will require you to set up elimination ladders, and lay out rules of play, whereas an informal girls night in will require much activity less planning. If it’s a wine and cheese, you will need to decide how are you going to serve the guests the wine (hint: you probably don’t want them free pouring for themselves), and how exactly you want the evening to progress. It doesn’t have to be planned down to the minute, but having a general game plan is necessary if you’ve sold this as an organized tasting event.
There are lots of resources online to get some ideas as to how to set up your event. For a bigger group, it may work best to serve everyone one wine at a time, and so you are not stuck behind a serving table all night, make sure you again enlist a couple friends to go around the room and help pour.
Definitely put a little thought into your to do list – do lots of reading on the internet, and think about what would make the evening go the most smoothly ahead of time. Don’t forget to think of things like where you are going to get 30 wine glasses, and how guests are going to keep track of whose is whose once they’ve had a couple of glasses under their belts. How are you going to tell people about the wines and cheeses they are sampling? How are you going to do the draw for the prizes? It is the small details that will make the party memorable, and perhaps lead to it being an annual event, so put some thought into it!
If it helps, sort the to-do list into time segments, as I have in the next couple steps.
7. Week before: Do the prep work
Now’s the time to start really ticking off that to-do list.
Send a friendly reminder to guests – especially if your only invitation format was facebook – and ask them to confirm if they’re in or out. And then get to work basically doing anything that can be done in advance.
Buy your baking supplies, the wine, even some of the cheeses if you have room in your fridge. If there are things that can be made in advance, make them!
Most Christmas cookies keep well in airtight containers, and many appetizers and dips can be made a couple days in advance and frozen until needed.
Decorate the house – especially if the holidays are involved. Put up the tree, deck the halls, clean the guest bathroom and hang the Christmas towels etc.
The day before, rearrange the furniture how you want it, bring up the folding chairs from the basement, and set out your serving dishes. Then get some sleep – you’ll want to be rested for the big day.
8. The Day Of
Have yourself a nice cup of coffee and a good breakfast, and then get to work!
Defrost that shrimp ring, arrange your veggie tray, and make your fresh dips. Put the finishing touches on your decorating and get the house presentable. You’ve thrown a party before, you’ll figure it out. But because you’ve thrown a party before, you know that there’s always more to do than you think there is! Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends who have offered. The more you did in the week leading up to the event, the easier the day of will be!
9. The hour before
It’s almost show time. Open the wines (as many as you’re sure you’ll consume, which, let’s face it, is probably all of them), to get them breathing. Bring the cheeses out so they can come to room temperature, but leave them covered until just before serving so that the strong ones don’t overpower the others. Fill the water jugs and put the crackers out. Have a couple appetizers somewhat ready so that early arrivals have something to nibble on.
Here’s the fun part – the food! And the drink!
If doing a wine and cheese, decide whether you want to centre the evening on the wine, or on the cheese. In either case, it’s a good idea to have a theme – for example, all goat cheeses, or all cheeses from a particular region. Or if focusing on the wine, you could choose a particular country to focus on, or do a comparison on the same grape from different vineyards, or old world versus new world, for example. Once you’ve picked which way around you’re going to do it, use that wonderful internet tool to find the wines or cheeses that pair well with the cheeses or wines you’ve selected. If you live in a smaller community, keep in mind that some of the more exotic cheeses you find on the internet may not be available, so research what you can source locally. Make sure however, that you branch out a bit from your typical bries and cheddars and the standard table wines that everyone has tried – part of the fun of the party will be trying new things!
Depending on the size of your group 4-6 different wines is ideal for a good sampling. In doing your planning, keep this in mind: it’s a wine tasting, not a wine gulping, so don’t plan on providing a bottle for each of your wino friends – the cost will quickly add up. The standard wine tasting size is 2-3 oz or 60-90 mL, so you should be able to get at least 8 tastings from the average 750 mL bottle of wine.
Remember too that the LCBO takes back unopened wine within 30 days with receipt, so if you’re not sure, overbuying doesn’t hurt. Plus, if you like the wine, having extra bottles in your cellar after the party isn’t such a bad thing!
You’ll need plenty of plain water and unflavoured crackers on hand as well, to cleanse people’s palates between wines. A couple of strategically placed, large decorative buckets to rinse glasses in to are a way to keep people out of your kitchen prep area.
Also have other appetizers and snacks on hand to help absorb the wine, and get guests moving about the room and mingling. Fresh and dried fruit also goes well with wine and cheese, looks beautiful, and is easy to prepare. Don’t overwork yourself though – a few extra dishes is plenty, and again, get your friends to bring their famous crab dip or legendary meatballs.
‘Tis the season for Christmas baking too, so have people bring some extra if they can spare it, and don’t bother with an elaborate dessert – Christmas cookies are the perfect sweets for the event. Having said that, dark chocolate also pairs well with wine, so if you can get your hands on some good quality stuff, no one will complain!
Whatever you decide, make sure you’re specific about the dishes you’re going to make, and write them down, ingredients and all –this will make it much easier when it comes time to make your shopping list!
6. Now Make a regular old list – the “To Do” variety
Now that the bulk of the big stuff is planned, it’s time to make some more lists. I like to set a master list on paper that I can check off, but I’m old school like that – do whatever works for you. Make sure it includes all the big stuff you’ve already decided on and all little details you think of as you go along. I also like to make a master shopping list – both for groceries and for decorations and the like – and a list of things I can ask other people to help me with.
Now’s also the time to figure out how exactly you want to run the event, and some activities will require more organization than others. A horseshoe tournament, for example, will require you to set up elimination ladders, and lay out rules of play, whereas an informal girls night in will require much activity less planning. If it’s a wine and cheese, you will need to decide how are you going to serve the guests the wine (hint: you probably don’t want them free pouring for themselves), and how exactly you want the evening to progress. It doesn’t have to be planned down to the minute, but having a general game plan is necessary if you’ve sold this as an organized tasting event.
There are lots of resources online to get some ideas as to how to set up your event. For a bigger group, it may work best to serve everyone one wine at a time, and so you are not stuck behind a serving table all night, make sure you again enlist a couple friends to go around the room and help pour.
Definitely put a little thought into your to do list – do lots of reading on the internet, and think about what would make the evening go the most smoothly ahead of time. Don’t forget to think of things like where you are going to get 30 wine glasses, and how guests are going to keep track of whose is whose once they’ve had a couple of glasses under their belts. How are you going to tell people about the wines and cheeses they are sampling? How are you going to do the draw for the prizes? It is the small details that will make the party memorable, and perhaps lead to it being an annual event, so put some thought into it!
If it helps, sort the to-do list into time segments, as I have in the next couple steps.
7. Week before: Do the prep work
Now’s the time to start really ticking off that to-do list.
Send a friendly reminder to guests – especially if your only invitation format was facebook – and ask them to confirm if they’re in or out. And then get to work basically doing anything that can be done in advance.
Buy your baking supplies, the wine, even some of the cheeses if you have room in your fridge. If there are things that can be made in advance, make them!
Most Christmas cookies keep well in airtight containers, and many appetizers and dips can be made a couple days in advance and frozen until needed.
Decorate the house – especially if the holidays are involved. Put up the tree, deck the halls, clean the guest bathroom and hang the Christmas towels etc.
The day before, rearrange the furniture how you want it, bring up the folding chairs from the basement, and set out your serving dishes. Then get some sleep – you’ll want to be rested for the big day.
8. The Day Of
Have yourself a nice cup of coffee and a good breakfast, and then get to work!
Defrost that shrimp ring, arrange your veggie tray, and make your fresh dips. Put the finishing touches on your decorating and get the house presentable. You’ve thrown a party before, you’ll figure it out. But because you’ve thrown a party before, you know that there’s always more to do than you think there is! Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends who have offered. The more you did in the week leading up to the event, the easier the day of will be!
9. The hour before
It’s almost show time. Open the wines (as many as you’re sure you’ll consume, which, let’s face it, is probably all of them), to get them breathing. Bring the cheeses out so they can come to room temperature, but leave them covered until just before serving so that the strong ones don’t overpower the others. Fill the water jugs and put the crackers out. Have a couple appetizers somewhat ready so that early arrivals have something to nibble on.
10. The Main Event!
When people arrive, welcome them, take their coats, thank them for coming, and get them a drink, just not the wine they will be tasting later in the evening. People will arrive at different intervals, even if you’ve given a party start time, that’s just the way it goes. This is where the tasting start time you specified on your invite comes in handy… don’t punish the punctual - make sure you stick to it!
When you have everyone’s attention, give a brief speech about why you’re all there (that is, talk a bit about the cause – but not too much, this probably isn’t why they’re there), thank them for coming, and talk a little bit of how the evening’s tastings are going to go. Thank the friends who have helped you publicly – they’ll like that, but if you’ve got a little thank you gift for them (highly recommended), give that in private when you thank them personally. Roll right in to introducing your first wine, and then finally: Mingle, eat, drink, and be merry! Introduce the wines and cheeses in the intervals you planned, and keep the wine, and thus the evening, flowing. Just make sure you don’t get too carried away with the wine yourself - you still need to keep an eye on how the evening progresses, and more importantly, keep up that responsible host stuff and ensure no one drives home after consuming too much. Above all, relax and enjoy your friends and the undoubtedly amazing results of your hard work!
And that’s basically it – maybe a bit too much information, but it was helpful for me to write down what I need to do over the next couple weeks as well! If you don’t have time to plan something yourself this holiday season, try and give as generously as you’re able to a cause you believe in. There’s also nothing more valuable than your time – if you can’t give money, donate your time and volunteer for an organization that needs your holiday help. Good luck, and have a happy, healthy holiday season!!
When people arrive, welcome them, take their coats, thank them for coming, and get them a drink, just not the wine they will be tasting later in the evening. People will arrive at different intervals, even if you’ve given a party start time, that’s just the way it goes. This is where the tasting start time you specified on your invite comes in handy… don’t punish the punctual - make sure you stick to it!
When you have everyone’s attention, give a brief speech about why you’re all there (that is, talk a bit about the cause – but not too much, this probably isn’t why they’re there), thank them for coming, and talk a little bit of how the evening’s tastings are going to go. Thank the friends who have helped you publicly – they’ll like that, but if you’ve got a little thank you gift for them (highly recommended), give that in private when you thank them personally. Roll right in to introducing your first wine, and then finally: Mingle, eat, drink, and be merry! Introduce the wines and cheeses in the intervals you planned, and keep the wine, and thus the evening, flowing. Just make sure you don’t get too carried away with the wine yourself - you still need to keep an eye on how the evening progresses, and more importantly, keep up that responsible host stuff and ensure no one drives home after consuming too much. Above all, relax and enjoy your friends and the undoubtedly amazing results of your hard work!
And that’s basically it – maybe a bit too much information, but it was helpful for me to write down what I need to do over the next couple weeks as well! If you don’t have time to plan something yourself this holiday season, try and give as generously as you’re able to a cause you believe in. There’s also nothing more valuable than your time – if you can’t give money, donate your time and volunteer for an organization that needs your holiday help. Good luck, and have a happy, healthy holiday season!!