renée throws a holiday party
What makes a good holiday party?
I think a holiday party honestly requires a lot of planning, but there are tricks. I set the table ahead of time, pre-batch a cocktail, ask people to bring the wine, and I rent the glassware. That is maybe what makes it easy for the host, not necessarily what makes a good holiday party. So there's gotta be great food, great music and a batched cocktail. I'm big on asking for help. Even though I've done most of it, help in the sense of renting glassware so I don't have to wash glasses, Ken was in charge of shovelling and getting all the wood for the outside fire, my friend Zach made all the sourdough for part of the snacks and then Maddie took care of all the cookies and desserts.
Another key to hosting a great party is making sure there’s something for everyone. We always provide a handlful of non-alcoholic options like fancy sparkling drinks, pop and 0.0% beer.
Do you get nervous about friend cocktails, as in mixing different people from different groups?
No, I don't get nervous about that, I actually get excited. I feel like it forces some of our groups to come together and it doesn't happen often so having this once a year is a lot of fun for me. Even though it's a lot of work it's a lot of fun. I'll probably never have a wedding so this is my version of having 15 small weddings, haha.
Tell me about your martini bar.
In my opinion a martini bar is pretty key to a great party. A martini is one of my absolute favourite drinks, it's easy, most people love them and you can pre-batch them and keep them super chilled on ice and all people have to do is add either an olive, a lemon twist or a little cocktail onion and it's done. Then they have a fancy restaurant quality drink and it feels festive.
I love cocktails but I'm a die-hard classics girl. Even if I'm going to a brand new restaurant with a wonderful cocktail program I will always order a classic like a martini, a boulevardier or a negroni. It shows the quality of the restaurant, it's a little test. Don't get me wrong, I'll fuck with a new one but even in the summer I just want a classic margarita.
What kind of food are you serving tonight?
Oh my goodness. Ok, so the food menu is always a really fun one to plan. I always have to do a shrimp cocktail. Classic, they're good anytime but a shrimp cocktail makes me think of the holidays. I'll be making a homemade Calabrian chili cocktail sauce to with it. Then a little lamb shoulder roast from my brother's farm that I did yesterday which is nice because then all I have to do today is heat it up. Zach's got the bread to go with that, I've got a whole bunch of homemade condiments and pickles and we've got an antipasto charcuterie board. I made a fancy clam dip with caviar and melba toast, mushroom turnovers and smoked salmon with caper cream cheese. I have so much food, it's insane. We also have some friends that are vegan or have some dietary restrictions so I always buy vegan samosas from down the street at India Palace. There are pickles and all the little snacks that they can have some of, but it's nice to have something heartier for them, especially with all the booze. You need your food-to-booze ratio right otherwise I think people could feel a little sick tomorrow.
Any advice for party throwers?
Pre-batch the cocktail, rent the glassware, and have a playlist ready to go because I find it annoying if the music keeps cutting out or something. I always like to have something unexpected as well. I think my friends now expect it at my party but have a projector with a movie or art playing in the background. Tonight we have The Big Night playing in the kitchen, and Home Alone by the bathroom. Lighting is so important, pull out the candles and plug-in lamps where you wouldn't normally have lamps. Don't be scared to switch it up because bad lighting is tragic.
Photographed by Ali Vandale