seeing red
cobi's house • entertaining • winter • Comments (4)
This weekend coming up is an amazing time to throw a party. I can’t believe we’re not having one, but the family cottage beckons thanks to the long weekend.
If we were going to be home, I would definitely be doing a combined Chinese New Year/Valentine’s Party. Just think of all the decorating possibilities with that tomatoey Chinese New Year red clashing up against the pinky reds of Valentines. Yikes!!
Bob and I have a lot of fun planning dinner parties for friends - especially in the winter when life isn’t as busy. Last year we had a Valentine’s party since it was on a Saturday night. I just pulled out everything I own that’s red and/or pink to decorate the table and had lots of sinfully rich foods along with champagne and chocolate of course. We seated the women on one side of the table and the men on the other and had a lot of good laughs as Bob played Bob Eubanks and commandeered a personalized version of the “Oldie-wed game”.
I didn’t take pictures of the table or I would show them to you. I do remember, instead of place cards we put a pink lei on each chair for the ladies, and a red lei on each chair for the men - everyone likes to get lei-ed on Valentines! 
A great place to get inspiration for a Valentine’s party is to rent the movie Julie & Julia. Meryl Streep/Julia Child throws a wonderful old fashioned Valentine’s dinner party - I love the idea of red roses and red felt hearts on everyone’s lapel - so classic and french!
Here are a few shots from a Chinese New Year party we threw the year before… I got right into it as you can see from the decorating. One guest asked me where I was going to keep all the stuff afterward, “in your Chinese room?”. I wish I had one! Right now it’s all in plastic boxes under our pool table. But I always find ways to reuse (you already saw my paper lanterns in use again last summer at an outdoor party).
I picked up Chinese newspapers when I went to Chinatown to buy the bbq duck we served, and lined the table with it. I also bought some cute plastic Chinese food containers and did little crocus’ down the table. I looked all over for colourful chopsticks but only found red and green - they worked fine with the colourful glazed bowls I bought and paper napkins and lanterns. Cheap and cheerful!
I found little ‘laughing buddas’ for each of the men and pretty paper fans for the women. Can you tell how much I love getting lost in Chinatown? I think sometimes the shopkeepers wonder who this strange 6’ redheaded lady is who keeps showing up.
I used fishing line to hang little paper lanterns between our ceiling lamps and from the curtain rods.
For decoration I bought extra oranges in Chinatown too. At this time of year they pack them with some leaves, which are so pretty in a simple glass pedestal.
I bought 12 restaurant style little plates for dessert (they were something like $1.00 each) and I already had the tea sets.
For dessert, I made an almond cake with an orange glaze - simple but at least it was homemade.
And did a second platter of traditional cookies, oranges and lychees.
We had a ball. I can only imagine how good it would be if we combined Bob Eubanks with my laughing buddas this year….maybe we should talk to the kids and re-think this whole cottage thing…
Comments
Sometimes people can be overwhelmed when you go to town on a party, but I find it’s more like that if you ‘fuss’ and make things unapproachable or too formal. If you pull out all the stops on a ‘fun’ party, usually guests will go with it. I also think it’s better if they know what they’re in for, so telling them to dress in red and pink or bring something to do with the theme, tells them that you’ve been working on something and to be prepared.
As far as the questions go, I suggest you don’t ask many factual or memory based ones where people can argue. Go more for imaginative, opinion based things like: If you were both stuck on a dessert island for the rest of your life, what one thing would you want to have.
Have fun!!
Cobi.
Cobi, your parties sound like absolute fun! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas. I’m going to steal (oops, I mean borrow some ideas (lol!)... you’ll get full credit; not to worry). Hope you have a great time at the cottage this long weekend.
What fun! I would love to go to one of your parties, you get right into it! I used to have dinner parties like that, I would go crazy with decor and food, I think I overwhelmed some people and over the years kept toning it down…now they are very casual affairs. My husband’s birthday is coming up-maybe I should re-think a party after all.
We were just talking about Newlywed Game questions for spouses-my sister said it could get ugly! What kind of questions did you ask that didn’t end up in a marital spat?
Hi Cobi,
Great website! Will be visiting it often, and will pass it on to all my friends who share a love of decorating.
All the best on your new venture!
Peggy