Keep reading to discover Felicia’s tips for an off the chart NYE Party! Read all about Felicia in Lynn Cahoon’s HAVE A DEADLY NEW YEAR.
Hi, I’m Felicia, co-owner and pastry chef of The County Seat. I know you all want to have the best NYE party so I thought I’d stop in with a few must dos to make your party rock.
First, make sure there’s a lot of fun, party tunes loaded on your Bluetooth speaker source. No slow songs, no sad songs, and especially no songs about losing your truck, dog, and girl in the same week. (Since we moved to Idaho, I’ve become very knowledgeable about country music.
Second, keep your invite list cozy. There’s a place for off the chart’s numbers of people in your back yard or living room. But NYE should be a little more intimate. A place where you can talk about the year that is passing and the year to come. Acknowledge the past, celebrate the future. (That’s why you need the rocking tunes.)
Third, if there’s alcohol involved, pull the keys. Nuff said, right?
Fourth, depending on the size of the group, maybe dogs should stay in the bedrooms or out of sight. If there are too many voices a usually calm pet can be driven to do a bad thing.
And finally, don’t feel like you have to do everything. Clean the house, buy the supplies, cook the meal or appetizers, and be a charming hostess. People come to your party to see you, not check if there’s dust behind your pictures on the mantle. (But you know we’re going to look, right?)
Hosting a small, calm, intimate party will bring in your New Year with a sense of calm and peace. We can all use a bit of that, right?
Do you have a party tip to share?
Chef Angie Turner of The County Seat—Idaho’s finest farm-to-table restaurant—is preparing a private dinner in the mountains during ski season, but the trip’s about to go downhill . . .
It’s a rockin’ New Year for Angie and her crew as they cater a bash for a famous band—and as a bonus, they’ll get to stay at the singer’s Sun Valley house for a whole week once the party’s over. But there are hints of discord, and the event hits a sour note when one of the musicians is found with a drumstick in his chest.
Is this a case of creative differences turned lethal or is there another motive at play? Angie’s jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire as she and her fellow foodies try to solve the case before the killer comes out for an encore . . .