How to plan the perfect party at home

 Plan the perfect party...

Ready your home

The basics there are no set rules for decorating your interiors. Find your individual style and work around it. If a style doesn't suit you or just doesn't work in your home, move things around and add or remove items until you are comfortable with it. Some basics you can keep in mind-the less cluttered a room is, the more elegant it'll look; dust and dirt can make our home look and feel dreary and dull. Remember to give your entire house a once-over-not just the living room.

Smell nice

Keep your home pleasant-smelling-not only for parties, but every day, so that each family member feels good about coming home! It can be a simple matter of eliminating odours, or using nice-smelling cleaning products.

Get rid of the source of bad odours

You may need to make some small changes, say, store the trash container outside, keep pet areas clean, get your carpets vacuumed regularly, and forbid smoking indoors.

Pick up products that'll keep your home smelling nice

Air fresheners come in solid or spray form. Put some scented candles in each room and let them burn for a few hours before your guests arrive; potpourri burners (you can try heating a small container of water and dried flowers in these) are also great ways to introduce fragrance.

Right lighting

The lighting in all the rooms of your house should be a mix of diffused and focussed. You can have candles in the bedroom to create a cozy feel. Tea lights in pretty holders work well when you are entertaining.

Furniture facts

Positioning the furniture right is significant. If you have a large space, it is a good idea to divide the sitting room in two or three separate seating areas-this allows guests to talk comfortably, while you can move from group to group and chat with each guest "group". The snacks can be placed on tables in each "area".

Some party platter ideas

Try these delicious and healthy party dishes:

Chilled minty tomato soup

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups chopped tomatoes; 3 cups water; a dash of red chilli sauce; 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce; salt to taste; 2tsp honey. To garnish 1tbsp chopped mint (pudina) leaves 4 slices lemon

1. Cook the tomatoes on low heat, for around five minutes, until they become mushy.

2. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, chilli sauce, salt and honey. Give it a light stir and bring it to a boil. Simmer for another five minutes.

3. Bring to room-temperature and sieve, without squeezing tomatoes. Transfer the mixture into another dish, leave it so that it can cool down to room temperature. Now put it inside the freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Take the mix out of the freezer and transfer to soup bowls garnish it with mint leaves and lemon slices.

Each serving: About 29.3 Calories; 0.8g protein; 5g carbohydrate; 0.3g fat (negligible saturated fat); 1g fibre; no cholesterol; 49.8mg sodium.

Organic carrots

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients: 24 baby carrots; 8 cloves garlic, sliced; 4tbsp olive oil, seasoning

1. Scrape the carrots whole. Do not remove their leafy tops.

2. Now simmer the carrots, garlic cloves and olive oil together, with a little wateror saffron stock, for about 20 minutes in a lidded pot. Serve seasoned.

Each serving: About 149 Calories, 0.75gm protein,5gm carbohydrates, 13.5gm fat (1.8gm saturated),1.7gm fibre, 0 cholesterol, 46.7mg sodium.

Roast vegetable pasta

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 yellow capsicum, 2 red capsicums, deseeded; 4 leeks, sliced; 300gm pasta; 200gm cherry tomatoes; 4-5 garlic cloves; 1tbsp olive oil;

1 cup vegetable stock; chopped mint or basil, fresh oregano and thyme

2. Put all vegetables in a flat baking tray. Drizzle olive oil over, add stock. Sprinkle with fresh herbs.

3. Preheat oven to 200?C and bake till the capsicum skin has blackened and cherry tomatoes have burst.

4. Peel off capsicum skin and chop. Squeeze the garlic pod out of its skin.

5. Cook pasta. Mix with veggies, add chilli flakes, chopped mint or basil. Serve hot with garlic bread.

Each serving: About 311 Calories, 5gm protein, 67gm carbohydrates, 1.8gm fat (0.3gm saturated), 2.7gm fibre, 53mg cholesterol, 158mg sodium.

Best bananas with pineapple sauce

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients 1tbsp butter; 4 small bananas

For sauce

1 cup crushed pineapple pieces; 1tbsp melted butter; 3tbsp brown sugar; 2tsp cornflour; 12 tsp almond essence; 1tbsp lemon juice; 14 tsp grated lemon peel

1. Fry bananas, browning on all sides. Place in individual serving dishes.

2. To make sauce, mix pineapple, melted butter, brown sugar, cornflour and almond essence. Cook on low heat until thick. Stir in lemon juice and peel just before removing from heat. Pour over bananas. Serve. each serving: About 198 Calories; 1.7gm protein; 41gm carbohydrate; 4.6gm fat (2.7gm saturated); 3.2gm fibre; 8mg cholesterol; 40mg sodium.