Fiesta Friday – Love Is In The Air

My last Fiesta Friday was for the bitter; today’s for the hopeless John Cusack-blasting-Peter Gabriel romantics. (And how heavy was that boombox in 1989???)

If You’ve Been Kissed By Cupid…
Invite a mix of sweethearts and singles to your love nest for a Dessert and Cocktails Party.

Food
Check out my Dessert Party for some great tips. My biggest tip would be to stick to foods that don’t require much silverware – mini brownie bites, cheesecake bites, etc. People want to mingle, not try to balance eating off a plate with a fork.

Use cookie cutters to shape ice cream sandwiches into hearts, and roll the edges in red sprinkles.

Signature cocktails
Try a Celestial Fizz; cognac, Grand Marnier and cranberry juice, a Sweetheart cocktail made from fresh strawberries and strawberry liqueur, or chocolate martinis complete with chocolate syrup to coat rim of martini glass.

The Ambiance
Set out these square votives, and beautiful red fishbowls filled with your favorite white flowers.

Turn off the volume and have a tear-jerker playing in background; classics like Casablanca or An Affair to Remember, or more recent flicks like Love Actually, or Sweet Home Alabama.

Play Spin the Bottle where players take a kiss, tell the truth, do a dare or take a drink.

Playlist
Get everyone in the mood with such ballads as the before-mentioned “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel, John Mayer’s “Your Body is a Wonderland”, Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles, and the oh-so-not-subtle “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye.

Favors
Have a heart or lip-shaped piñata filled with chocolate coins, condoms, small bottles of body paint and other adult goodies.