Reluctant Hostess: Bash Rating System

I am so excited, I actually found a book titled "The Reluctant Hostess". It is written by Ethelind Fearon in 1954, republished in 2015 by Vintage Books. This is really a classic and anyone who is interested in history will get a chuckle. Thank goodness times have changed! Ethelind is very through covering everything from food and drink to house repairs and games. It is so odd to hear the inedible food and the drinks consisting of hot tea and gin. I have to add, the house repairs include plumbing and spackling - she is very through in just 129 pages. It is nice that we have so many more food options today and that we don't have to polish the silver before sending out the invitations or bake the crackers from scratch. We have so many options; in fact, that is often what stresses people about entertaining. With the multitude of websites, apps, books, magazines, YouTube videos, and the Food Network some people (not you) get overwhelmed.

Where does being a successful and thoughtful hostess end and stress and extravagance begin? It all starts with you and what you want from your party. The first thing you need to ask yourself is what do you want from this 2 - 4-hour time in your life. Do you want something intimate; a bring the roof down, invite the entire contact list, extravaganza; or something in between? If you want something intimate then keep your list small. What list you ask? All lists. The craft list if you are a crafter, the catering list if you order out, the menu if you like to cook --- all the lists. Keep all the to-do's as small as possible. This will allow you to focus on yourself and the guests. If you want an extravaganza your lists will get longer so identify a theme to focus your efforts and when your ideas and to-do lists start to stray ask yourself - how and why it fits the theme. Don't forget to frequently check on how the activity fits your budget. A big party is like a project at work. There are three pillars: cost, schedule and "performance." So if you have more time you can bring in the costs. If you have more money you can have the party sooner. If you let go of some of the bells and whistles (performance) you can have the party sooner and probably for less money too. But the three pillars will always be tied together and need to be balanced. At Bash-in-a-Box we focus more on the hostess than the guest and on reducing the level of complexity for hostess. That is why we devised a box rating system.

Our parties are identified according the level of effort for the hostess. If you want a bash quick to pull together and requires minimal effort for the hostess, choose a party with 1 - 2 boxes.

If you are a more comfortable and experienced hostess and/or have a greater lead time, choose a party with 3 - 4 boxes.

In closing - keep these thoughts in mind when planning your next party:

1) Intimate = short lists 2) Extravaganza = theme and balance of cost, schedule, budget I'll continue to provide you tips, tools, and reviews in future blog posts. You are not alone out there. Feel free to drop me a line and tell me about your party and party stressors. Oh and don't forget to feel a bit grateful that, unlike Ms. Fearon, we don't have to squeeze our own orange juice and we don't have to bake our own crackers (if we don't want to).

Cheers!

P.S. There is just some of Ms. Fearon's wisdom I need to pass on. Here are a few tidbits:

"It isn't so much the actual washing-up that is loathsome, as the sight of the battlefield. It looks so terribly morning afterish when viewed cold. Much better to give it a bit of first aid the night before."

"For all cocktails economy is fatal. Spare the gin and spoil the party."

Bash-in-a-Box does not receive payment for our blog posts. We reference books because we find them interesting and they relate to Bash-in-a-Box. We are not responsible for web content at other sites.

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