Tips For Being The Perfect Host

So, the biggest question of the day is: what makes a great host? Here are a few tips we have that will make you the toast of the town!

Relax and Enjoy! If you don't have a good time at your own party no one else will!

Don't Do It Alone! Enlist a co-host (or two, three or an many as you need), be it your husband, boyfriend, best friend, co-worker, mother, or anyone with whom you team up well. If your best bud, love her dearly, is flaky and disorganized, then don't ask her to be your co-host. If you ask her anyway, just be aware of her strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly. Look for someone who can manage details and will happily step in during the messiest of moments.

Be Ready At Least 45 Minutes Before the Scheduled Start Of The Party. This gives you time to relax and wind down before guests arrive. There's nothing worse than being the first person to arrive only to find the host in the bathroom applying makeup or running around the house fretting over unlit candles and chair arrangements.

Know Your Guests. The best way to be prepared is to know about those attending. The better you know your guests, the better you can anticipate what will make the night more enjoyable for them. Do they drink? Does everyone like each other? Will they want to bring a guest? For example, if you know that since the invites went out, Paris and Nicole are, once again, on the outs, then you'll be able to avoid conflict by rearranging the table seating to put as much distance between the two as possible. And if you are having a dinner party, you should always be aware of any dietary restrictions guests may have, kosher, vegan, diabetic, and make arrangements ahead of time.

Even Stevens. One of the most important parts of being a host is crafting the perfect guest list. The right mix of people is what make a party great. There is nothing worse than being a single girl in a sea of couples. Where's the fun and flirting in that? So keep it equal and balance the number of men and women, singles and couples, gay and straight. Play your invites right and you just might become know for making matches.

Think Of The Little Thinsg That Will Make Guests Feel Welcome and Comfortable. For example, if the weather turns chilly during your backyard barbecue, offer warm socks for those in sandals, a sweater or coverup to someone with bare shoulders, or if you have heat lamps on hand, crank up the temperature!

Cocktails = Welcome. The minute guests arrive offer to get them a drink or better yet, have a tray of drinks at the door so they immediately feel like they are part of the party. Any they won't have to dash to the bar right away.

Make Introductions. Personally take guests by the hand and introduce them to as many people as you can. Getting guests to mingle is you responsibility, especially at the outset. We always suggest giving "introduces" seeds of conversation before leaving them alone to fend for themselves. Find their common ground to get the conversation flowing. "Fred, this is Mindy, she's the head of HSN. You should tell her all about your new line!"

Mix and Mingle. Don't spend your night in the kitchen or handing out instructions to the help. Tell your wait staff everything ahead of time, or better yet, write it all out and post it so they won't interrupt you with questions. Now you have time to circulate through the room, to talk to each and every guest, and to make new introductions! The more you move from conversation to conversation, the more your guests will.

Break The Ice! Find creative ways to get your guests to interact: have a bunch of Polaroid cameras on hand, make people move around for each course at a seated meal, or put questions on their place cards. Inducing a repartee isn't as tricky as it sounds. Invest in cool conversation starters like Table Topics. These cards feature fun, topic-inducing questions and they really work! They produce more interesting conversations than you'd dare try to create.