POTENTIAL POOPER:
You don’t know
a single soul
Putawayyourphone–itcan
make you appear standoffish.
“Whenweplanevents,wesee
it as creating a moment for
guests that they’ll hopefully
rememberyearsdownthe
line,” says event production
coordinator Morgan Evans.
“You can’t fully experience it
if you aren’t in the moment,
especially if you’re on your
phone.” Instead, choose some
people and walk right up to
them, says etiquette expert
Anna Post. Make eye contact,
smile, then wait for them to
finish talking. “As soon as they
do, that’s when you make an
introduction,” she says.POTENTIAL POOPER:
You need to abor t
aconvo
Corneredbyapest?“Whenthe
persondrawsbreath,useyour
body language to startHow to...
FEELITWHEN
YOU’RENOT
Everypartyhasapooper–usethese
tricks to make sure it’s not youHow to...
SMASHYOURPLANNINGGOALS
CelebchefGiadaDeLaurentiis,starofGiada At Homeon SBS, rocks hosting duties
–bothonTVandathome.Hereishercheat-sheetforanA-gradegathering...123 4 5
WEAR PRINTS.
Giada’s party
host uniform is
a printed dress- to disguise
any splatters
from one of
her heavenly
famous sauces.
SERVE A
SIGNATURE
COCKTAIL
ON ARRIVAL.
“A themed
cocktail is
a conversation-
starter. It sets
a nice tone.”INVITE ONE
LIGHT-UP-
THE-ROOMER.
“My husband
andIhave
afewfriends
whoweknow
are going to be
the life of the
party and we
trytoinvite
them as often
as we can.”MAKE ONE
DISHDURING
THE PARTY.
The simplest
oneto prep, of
course. “People
will come into
the kitchen
and take a look
instead of
sittingona
couch staring
at each other.
It breaks down
barriers.”DECIDE WHAT
YOU’LL SERVE
WHERE.
Don’t serve
red wine near
white couches.
“When you
entertain you
have to be OK
with the fact
that accidents
can happen.”
However, Giada
advises keeping
red wine for
the table.WHPEAS IN
A SQUADdisengaging,” says Post. Step
back,nodandstartturning
away. Then say something
like:“I’msorry,it’sbeengreat
chatting, but if you’ll excuse
me...” It’s tempting to fill this
... with an excuse, like needing
togetadrink,butresistthe
urge. “Sometimes people will
say, ‘Oh, me too!’, then follow
you right to the bathroom or
bartokeepchattingaway.”POTENTIAL
POOPER: You do
something that’s
embarrassing
Whether you spill a drink or
slip over, your best bet is to
laughitoff.“Yourreaction
tellsotherpeoplehowto
react,”saysPost,“soifyou
smile, say ‘whoops’, apologise
if necessary, and move on,
other people will, too.” She
says the only time anyone
should ever be embarrassed
is if they’re disrespectful,
unkind or inconsiderate.54 womenshealth.com.au DECEMBER 2016Best Body health
ADDITIONAL WORDS: ZAHRA BARNES; K ALEISHA FETTERS; JENN SINRICH; KRISTINA BORNHOLTZ; ALISON GOLDMAN. *THANKS TO FASHION MARKET EDITOR LIZA COLLIS. PHOTOGRAPHY: NADIA VON SCOTTI; GETTY IMAGES