You Voted Best Entertaining Tip - Entertaining Guru Announced 364

I have had an overwhelming response to my previous "You Be The Judge -Who Wins Best entertaining Tip", the current comment count is 155, but I have about 212 comments that await moderation.

I would like to thank everyone who voted, or who noted their choices and especially to those of you who added your own entertaining tips. This was a pretty successful contest, and I plan to do more like this.

As a recap I wanted to give you a snippet of the original post that spurned this contest.

The most successful host & hostesses have an arsenal of tricks they have tucked away in their little entertaining hats. Cabinets and pantries stand at attention year-round, stocked with dinnerware, decorations and edibles. These entertaining geniuses can layout their hospitable spreads within moments of a surprise pop-in or short notice dinner party.

If you are one of these people - lucky you, you have mastered the art of snatching a mini quiche from the masters' hand ^IMDB. For those of you who aren't entertaining gurus - you have much to learn, and remain the grasshoppers ^W of social hospitality. - Dec. 11 2009

That was really the spirit behind this contest -  with 12 bloggers inputting a total of 16 entertaining tips, I asked readers to vote for their favorite tip. The tip that stood out among the rest  for readers was YESIamblond's second contribution.

YESIamblond

"Buy Fortune Cookies. Have each guest read fortune out loud to group adding "in bed" at the end of reading their fortune, as in "You will find much prosperity...in bed". Makes for a funny gut-busting mixer, really gets the party rolling."

YESIamblond has won a coupon for a  free Nancy's Frozen Appetizer. Congratulations & thanks so much for participating in the "Entertaining Guru" contest!

The view expressed here are mine & mone alone.Please read more about Renaissance Culinaire's Disclosure Policy

You Be The Judge - Who Wins "Best Entertaining Tip"? 319

On the first week of December 2009, I had written a review on Nancy's Appetizers and challenged readers to add their best entertaining tips in the comments.  If they posted correctly, I promised I would publish their tips including a link to their site, and create a poll that you the readers would vote on, to chose the best entertaining tip from those submitted. The Best Tipper will win a free Nancy's Appetizers product.

The most successful host & hostesses have an arsenal of tricks they have tucked away in their little entertaining hats. Cabinets and pantries stand at attention year-round, stocked with dinnerware, decorations and edibles. These entertaining geniuses can layout their hospitable spreads within moments of a surprise pop-in or short notice dinner party.

If you are one of these people - lucky you, you have mastered the art of snatching a mini quiche from the masters' hand ^IMDB. For those of you who aren't entertaining gurus - you have much to learn, and remain the grasshoppers ^W of social hospitality. - Dec. 11 2009

                                                                Photo credit azrainman

Here are what the self-titled  entertaining gurus recommend:

"Buy Fortune Cookies. Have each guest read fortune out loud to group adding "in bed" at the end of reading their fortune, as in "You will find much prosperity...in bed". Makes for a funny gut-busting mixer, really gets the party rolling."

"Mini Olympics. Take whatever games you have ping-pong, Foosball, Wii, gameboys, darts, etc. and set up a mini Olympics for a party. Tell people that they must have a different partner for each game and that they must try to play against different teams each time. Give them a tally sheet to record game played, Won or Lost, and score. Tally up who won and award a girl and guy prize. Excellent way to get people mixing!"  -YESIamblond

"Once a year I have Wild Women Day. Each friend brings a friend, a food that begins with the same letter as her first name(ie Julie brings Jello) and we bring new and gently used children books that I donate to a Detoit Public School." -Diane Baum

"I always pick one signature cocktail so as not to become a bartender for the evening. I also have white & red wines available."

"I hate to run out of appetizers, so I always have extra put away in the freezer. If I see I am running low, I can just pop them in the oven." - DEBIJOT

 

"A 15 ounce an of refried beans, a cup of shredded, sharp cheddar cheese, a tablespoons of hot sauce, and 1/4 cup of milk can be combined and heated to make a quick and popular dip."-Belinda

"Soft music is always nice to have playing as there may be lolls in conversations by the guests and the silence will have been broken"

"Always have finger foods readily available and in convenient places to take along with napkins and small plates" - electricisland

"Download a whole selection of music onto your mp3 player specifically selected for your theme or your particular guests. Then play it during the party. Mix it up and be eclectic, go from slow ballads to instrumentals to dance music to keep your party moods changing and bubbling." - heaventrees

"Some cut up velvetta and a can of chili beans (drained) heated up in the microwave makes a fast and easy dip. Doesn't taste that bad either. Adding meat makes it better but that also adds to the time to prepare."- Barb

"I think it's fun when there's a theme. For instance for a Superbowl party you could have everyone dress in the colors of the team they're rooting for, make a cheese ball shaped like a football, give the foods football names (touchdown tacos, half time ham, field goal fajitas, kickoff kabobs, etc). You can even play a game where everyone guesses the final score! Of course there's lots of other themes, too!"- Pamela S.

 "Have a fun potluck dinner with friends. Put the names of dishes in a hat and then have each guest pick what they will bring. You can have main dish, dessert, side dishes, drinks etc." - Gianna

"On a counter in my kitchen is a three tiered stack of plates and silverware. Next to it is a wine holder that holds On one counter in my kitchen we have set up year roun2 bottles of wine and glasses. I keep appetizers made up in freezer. We can have an impromptu party in a hurry."

"I also have a drawer with different kinds of fun napkins" - rosannepm

"When I throw a party I always have music on in the background and candles lit in the main rooms. If it's cold outside I'll have the fire lit.If it's hot outside I'll make sure the house has fans on in each room,(we don't have AC)! Nancy's quiches are part of the menu every party,so simple and delicious!" - grapegoddess

"I wouldn't say this is entertaining, but sure it's fun: when my friends and I are in the mood for something sweet we have a "blender party"; we blend all kinds of fruits with all kinds of ice creams and drinks, and some of the mixtures are really good.:)" - cary

Below you will find a poll  widget - please scroll through the quotes and chose which tip you feel is the best entertaining tip. The deadline to vote is 12 a.m Pacific Time Jan. 14th 2010. Once all the votes are tabulated I will announce the winner via post and get the winner's address info to mail their prize. Please - one vote per person!

This Poll is Closed

M&Ms Custom Printing, Colors for Any Event 79

Chocolate in bar form, from it's humble production years at the turn of the century, has gone hand-in-hand with military rations throughout history. From the America's first World War^W , when soldiers were given chocolate bars in abundance, as a cheap source of energy and nourishment. The unfortunate thing about chocolate is on it's own is most definitely guaranteed to meld into a puddle of chocolaty goo in the palm of your hand, or if carried close to your body too long.

During the Spanish Civil War , an innovator of Mars candy company saw Spaniard soldiers had been given chocolate encased in a sugary coating, which kept the chocolate from liquefying in the hot sun - which led to the development of the first M&Ms and a patent filed March 3, 1941, with actual production of the first M&Ms sold to consumers in paper tubes . M&Ms have been known the world over.

...Order
Custom M&Ms

22 Colors

Recently M&Ms have launched a very cool site,
so that you can create a campaign of custom
m&ms.

From birthdays to weddings - you choose from
22 colors and a variety of fonts to get your
perfect message on that candy coating.

The ordering process is very simple you choose
your colors,font and type in your message.

Once you have selected all the custom info,
you can see a dynamic demo in flash giving
you an idea of what your m&ms will look
like, featuring your colors & message.

Not only is there custom printing options
for the home consumer - But for businesses
as well.

I went ahead and ordered some for my husband's organization. He holds an elected office position and using the faces-on-m&ms option, I chose the organizations colors, then put his face on one side and his office title on the other side. The process is just as easy as the basic custom message - Upload your picture, crop it if you want a closer image, then their site techs will get the image resized so that it has the best appearance on the m&ms. I also ordered some basic m&ms with my personalized message.

I really liked the interactivity of m&ms site. It's a really neat service. Great for making an event even more special, or for advertising your business or organization. http://www.mymms.com/