Hosting Made Easy

The pre-nups are signed, the betrothals completed, and the newlyweds are returning from their honeymoon ready to embark on their new life. They've decided to throw a cocktail party for friends and family. And while planning their wedding was the largest event they've had to cope with, entertaining at home is an entirely different situation requiring more hands-on attention. But between busy work schedules and settling in to a new home, many newlyweds don't have time to plan formal soirees. On the other hand, most don't want to be too casual.

The situation calls for retailers to serve bridal customers beyond the wedding by offering products and solutions to make hosting successful parties a viable proposition. Manufacturers have aided the cause with a wide selection of stylish bar accessories, cocktail kits, partywares, and gourmet products to help reduce the stress level of entertaining. Cocktail shakers come in coordinating sets with glasses, as do canape plates, trays, and coasters — all of which also make perfect hostess gifts.

Then there's the Teeter Tray, which holds six glasses and a full tray of snacks, letting hosts circulate among their guests, serving them quickly, and getting back to the real business of family news, neighborhood gossip, and the price of real estate.

Another innovative product is Lucy Lu's Spinners, 11 different cards — including one listing cocktail recipes (“Let's get out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini.”), another listing 101 phobias, and another titled, “Easy Guide to Poker” — that will help novice hosts get the party rolling.

Other aids are conversation starters, which come in a number of different formats to kick off the evening with topics like, “Would you rather live by the beach or in the mountains?” Hopefully, after a few drinks, the topics could become more risqué.

With the popularity of trendy cocktails such as cosmopolitans and flavored martinis, gourmet cocktail mixes and kits dress up party offerings while taking the worry out of not knowing how to blend the perfect drink or having the right ingredients on hand. While a good martini should be garnished with olives, a jalapeno stuffed olive adds a kick for the adventurous. And a vermouth olive might be all that's required to create the perfect dry martini.

Dessert fondues, especially chocolate, are experiencing renewed popularity. When today's fondue sets — pot, warming stand, and forks — are packaged with chocolate mix, all the host has to do is add fruit, marshmallows, or other dippers.

A number of other gourmet food items — from packaged dip ingredients and cheese ball kits to “soup-to-nuts” dinner kits — are also available to make menu-planning a breeze.

While these products are especially appealing for brides and newlyweds, they can also be targeted to your entire customer base. Whether given as shower or housewarming gifts, or simply picked out by the couple on their own, products for home entertaining are a must for any retailer's merchandise mix.

If your store doesn't have a specific weddingwares section, you can tag your home entertaining merchandise with “Also great for bridal” labels. And encourage brides and other customers to include these items on their gift registry list.

If you've been partly responsible for the newlyweds' success at home entertaining, you know they'll be counting on your store for many years to come.