The holiday party season arrives next week on a witch's broom and rides out about nine weeks later with Father Time.
In between, there are turkeys to roast, sacred holidays to mark, office parties to attend (or avoid) and Christmas trees to decorate. And those are just some of the highlights. Birthdays, anniversaries, promotions and weddings occur year-round.
It's also time to raise a glass to cooler temperatures.
There are lots of reasons to throw a party. Are you up for it?
This week's Taste section is devoted to party planning. To provide tips and moral support, our regular writers are tackling the subject. But we also know there are plenty of Tampa Bay area residents with reputations as tip-top party-givers.
Several months ago, we asked readers to submit names of the fabulous cooks and accomplished entertainers in their lives. Several hundred tips came via letter and e-mail, praising family and friends for their warm hearts and cold drinks.
Over the next year, we will visit some of them and publish their stories in the Taste section.
This week, we share suggestions on how to pull off a successful party from five "hosts with the most."
Their circumstances and resources are different: some are gourmet cooks, others order out; they are single, divorced and married; some work outside the home, some don't. But they are all of the same mind on the most important aspect of a good party: planning.
* "I love to plan it out so I can enjoy my friends," says Lisa Bazzanella Smith of St. Petersburg. "Why should I get stuck in the kitchen while everyone is having a good time?"
* "For a new cook, plan and practice with the recipe," says Dawn Sullivan of Tarpon Springs.
* "Planning is a crucial element," says Brenda Eckes of Largo. "Think about what the party is for and who is coming."
* "Planning and preparation, those are the main things," says Laura Olson of Oldsmar.
* "Plan enough in advance so you aren't doing everything at the last minute," says Laura Shuh Riiska of St. Petersburg.
Got the picture?
Another common theme was to do what you're comfortable with. Riiska considers herself more an entertainer than a cook. She has an annual Christmas tree decorating party and serves take-out pizzas. Drinks are juice boxes for the kids or sodas and beer for the adults.
"Then I don't have to pour drinks," says the stay-at-home mother of a daughter, 3, and son, 1. If she does pour, she serves beverages in plastic cups with a permanent marker handy so partiers can write their names on them. Never hurts to be frugal.
Riiska and many of her friends have young children so her parties are geared for little people and early departures. At the Riiska New Year's Eve party the countdown starts just before 7 p.m. when it's nearing midnight somewhere, like Norway or London. This year, the Canary Islands will be the focus of the party.
"Her parties, um, galas, are always events to be remembered," says her friend Lori Borelli. "She is a doting hostess who lets the good times roll."
Another good times host throws her bashes at the "Moose Lodge." That's the name Dawn Sullivan's husband, John, an orthopedic surgeon, gave to their home on 2-plus acres on Lake Tarpon. The Sullivans have six children, ages 11 to 26.
Since moving there in 2003, the Sullivans have hosted a mystery dinner party, a Christmas party for more than 200, a 50th birthday celebration, a tapas dinner party and an assortment of birthday and cocktail bashes. For most of them, Sullivan does the cooking.
Her advice: For a sit-down dinner, find out what people won't or can't eat.
"Don't ask them what they like, ask them what they don't," she says. "I don't want to exclude anyone. I think it's really important to make people feel comfortable."
Sullivan, who has experience as a hotel catering manager, says hosts must be comfortable with the idea of having a party and what they are making.
"If it's your first dinner party, pick out things you can make the day before. You don't want to blow it at the end," she says. "Your guests are there to relax and if you're calm, they're calm."
Laura Olson of Oldsmar entertains on a smaller scale. After Sept. 11, Olson wanted to start a Sunday night dinner tradition with her best friend's family in St. Petersburg. On many Sundays since the terrorist attacks, Olson has shopped, cooked and dined with Marcy and Tom Gardiner and their three children. Olson, who is single, is godmother to the Gardiner children.
Olson, a vice president for Owner's Property Management in Tampa, gets inspiration from food magazines and cookbooks. Sometimes, she and her friend change their menu plans while they are shopping.
Her lesson: Be flexible. If you see something in the store that looks good or that's on sale, figure out a way to use it. (Though you may have to bring your magazines to the store for recipe reference as Olson does.)
Oh, yes, and keep your sense of humor, even when disaster looms.
"Tom's joke is that if the recipe is not working, add wine," Olson says. "Or butter."
Brenda Eckes' home, says sister Laura Clark, is the place everyone knows they can come to, day or night, for a good meal and comforting smile. Even in a mild Florida winter, guests find a welcoming fire in the fireplace.
"She doesn't have much money. She doesn't live in a beachside mansion, or drive a Beemer," says Clark. "But she loves guests, unexpected guests as well, and makes even the newly met person feel as welcome as if they were family."
Eckes, who owns a cleaning service in Largo and has two grown sons, has a repertoire of dishes, such as chicken Parmesan, stuffed mushrooms and beef stroganoff, that she has perfected. The gas grill is in constant use. Cookbooks and food magazines? She uses them occasionally.
Eckes cooks what she knows. She doesn't bake and asks guests to bring dessert or buy one.
She advocates coupons, two-for-one sales and an extra freezer to store food. A well-stocked pantry and freezer is what makes her so calm when she gets the call: "Can I come over for dinner?"
"I love company and I love to cook for company," she says.
Smith, who is married with a grown daughter, is another home entertainer who enjoys being surrounded with people. Her goal is to have everything done in advance so she can circulate among the guests. She even makes a schematic of how the plates and linens will be placed on the table.
Her advice: Remember why you're having a party. "It's not the stuff, it's the people," she says. "It's not the food you serve, it's the people. Have them over, have fun for gosh sakes."
For the next couple of months, these comfortable entertainers are in their element. How about you?
