How to Throw a Killer Summer Party

I used to stress hard core about throwing parties. I would over-plan, over-buy and over-commit. But through years of trial and error, I learned that throwing a party can be ridiculously simple and laid back. You don't need online invites and a month's notice. Just pick up a few simple items and see who's available. 

For my second blog post sponsored by Brother (the maker of the P-touch D210 label maker), I decided to throw a 'Killer Summer Party'! 

What makes it killer? It's easy. Like 30 min easy.  

First Tip: Make it self-service.

You don't want to spend your entire night in the kitchen, prepping plates or mixing cocktails. Create an environment for people to help themselves --one of the best and easiest ways to do this is by using the P-touch D210 to label your spread so guests know what's what, whether it's cocktails, dips or cheeses. This frees you up and get people out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Second Tip: No one expects an entire meal.

Unless it's a dinner party... people only expect finger foods and drinks. We have a local cheese shop down the street from our house with a wine shop next door. It turns cheese plates and sangria into a one-stop-party. 

It's almost summer, so sangria seemed like a great (and easy) cocktail choice. I spent 20 min the day before the party putting two recipes together. They're just fruit, sugar (white sugar for the white sangria and brown sugar for the red), lime juice, cognac and sweet wine. EASY. I labeled the bottles of homemade sangria using the P-touch because it lets people know right away what's in them. I used Brother TZe gold tape with white lettering because it's super classy. Whatever your preference, you can easily personalize the labels with one (or more) of 14 fonts, 97 frames and over 600 fun symbols.  

Then I filled up a slate board with cheese, meat, nuts, crackers and hot pepper jam. Creating homemade toothpick flags with the lime green tape made it look like I spent a ton of time prepping (truth: I didn't), encouraged people to try them all, and eliminated the guess work.

Third Tip: Satisfy everyone's needs.

You want to cover everyone's food and drink desires. Make sure you have something sweet (candied walnuts and fruit), something savory (chips, certain cheeses), something spicy (hot pepper jam) and vegan/vegetarian options (because it's 2017).

Once all of your bases are covered and everything is labeled with the P-touch, the party will run itself! Your host duties are done. 

That's really it. Forget about making 5 appetizers, 2 desserts and buying 3 different party platters. At the end of the day, it's about the people, not what's being served.

Funny enough, one of my guests actually took the P-touch D210 label maker home and went to town! He made gold labels for his entire closet and bedroom. Who knew a label maker could make such amazing party favors?!

Final tip: Never run out of alcohol. No one wants a party to end because the sangria ran out. 

To purchase your own Brother P-touch D210 label maker, visit Amazon.

**This post is in partnership with Brother. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.