Most parties have a purpose: to celebrate a birthday, an anniversary or the start of a new adventure. But there are parties and there are parties. In her first book, party-planning expert Polly Betton shows you how to throw a shindig your friends and family won't forget.

Whether it's the perfect Prohibition affair, a decadent Victorian tea party or a fun-filled scavenger hunt, “Party!” is never short on inspiration and helpful tips on how to be a successful party planner. With Polly's advice, you will find that bringing together all the elements for the Party of the Century (venue, performers and DJs, props, helpers and caterers) is well within your reach and budget.

Polly also has lots of ideas for spicing up smaller-scale, more intimate dinner parties, and offers 100 recipes for gorgeous party food and show-stopping cocktails.

SAMPLE RECIPES

Dates in moonlight (pictured left)
You will need some long wooden skewers for this.

Serves 6

Pack of dates
Pack of pancetta
250g ricotta
Squeeze of lemon
Salt and pepper

Take your dates and very carefully cut in half across the middle (not lengthways!). Fish out the pit and you will end up with two little date ‘cups’ (cups are somehow a running theme in this menu, as you will see shortly).

Before you get into date chopping in earnest, line a baking tray with some foil and lay out some pancetta. Bake in the oven or under a grill until super crispy, but not burned. Set aside to cool. Once cool, break the pancetta up into shards.

Pop some ricotta into a bowl with a good squeeze of lemon, and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the ricotta mixture into an icing bag fitted with the smallest nozzle you have and pipe a small amount into each date ‘cup’. Pop a shard of baked pancetta into the ricotta filling and carefully spear the bottom of the date cup with a skewer, so that you end up with your weird looking canapé fastened on the top of the skewer. Present en masse in a vase as a canapé bouquet.

Pink cordial cocktail (pictured left)
This cordial cocktail gets its lovely pink from raspberries. It’s a two stage recipe: first the cordial, which can be made well ahead of time, then the cocktail which should be assembled on the day.

Serves 8–10

2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced
500g raspberries, washed
300g caster sugar
Vodka
Sprig of mint leaves
Soda water

Put the fruit and sugar into a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add 400ml water. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly. Keep on a rolling boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. It’s a good idea to taste the mixture once cooled a little, in case you find it too tart (if so, add sugar to taste and heat gently until dissolved). Bear in mind it’s going to be diluted so it’ll be very strongly flavoured.

Line a sieve with a tea-towel and strain the mixture through it into a jug. You can give the fruit a good press to make sure you get all the juices through. This cordial can be used straight away or kept in the fridge for up to 7 days.

To make up the cocktail in a 250ml swing top bottle: fill a fifth with the cordial, add a double shot of vodka (raspberry vodka can be used) and the mint leaves, then top up with soda water. Seal firmly and pop into the fridge until ready to serve.

Author Biography

Polly Betton is the founder of London-based event company Teatime Production. Specialising in creating large, one-of-a-kind events, Teatime counts arts institutions, film studios and advertising agencies among its clients.