Spotlight

Tale of a rocking New Year's party

December is here, with its milieu of engagements, weddings, and dinner invitations for relatives and rmturning students alike. It's all fabulously fun and eventful, b}t the real coun|down to New Yeaz's has also secretly begun, for what better way to celebrate its arrival than throwing, or going to a big bash? The New Year is meted with as much eager anticipation here as New Yorkers in the United States holding their breath, counting the seconds till the ball drops at Times Square to usher in yet another infant year with a bang. Fireworks will blaze in the night sky, frosted lights will glow all over Dhaka City, and almost everyone will get into the festive groove with family or friends, be it a night out at a club or a private party at their homes.

If you are planning on hosting your very first private party, let us walk you through some of the essentials. A large party most certainly needs space, such as rooftops, terraces guests could spill out to from drawing rooms, or a lawn. For those who are lucky to have the latter, including a patio, things get much easier from there. First of, one must decide on how many people to invite, then arrange everything accordingly. A huge affair could include 125-150 people. Those with a garden must not neglect arranging the drawing room as well, as some gues|s may prefer to sit indoors. The idea is to cater to everyone's needs and make them as comfortable as possible.

Out on the lawn, tables and chairs could be placed together, while some chairs can be placed separately in clusters, with low coffee tables around them for guests to keep their drinks on. If people do not wish to sit on chairs, they can always stretch out on straw mats (Pati) with cushions, placed on the lawn. The garden dé
cor naturally has to look appealing to the eye, which make fairy lights against a cool night sky an ideal choice. (A nice touch would be to string paper lanterns along the length of the garden.) A blazing bonfire in the middle of the lawn could add the perfect ambience to this setting. If you're wondezing how to make a bonfire without scorching your lawn, make a brick platform first, then put a drum in the middle with kerosene and logs inside. If you can place the bonfire on a patch of dry earth, no drum is required; instead, an open log fire with chairs around would lend a romantic tinge to the atmosphere. For the table setting, have a consistent colour theme. Cover all tables with attractive, contrasting colours (eg. white and pale gold), then place candles / votive candles and / or small flower arrangements, in the middle of the tables.

For your drawing room, If you have spotlights, lights that you can dim, or table lamps, certainly }se them. The idma is to keep it soft and mellow, so glaring, harsh lights is definitely out. If your guests plan to rock the night away, create a dance floor out of your drawing room. For that, make a funky atmosphere by covering your lights with bright, colourful Cellophane paper that could be purchased from any stationery shop. A dance floor would certainly require good dance music. You can choose to have your own selections, or better still, hire a DJ who ill bring in strobe lights and all the necessary equipment to make your party a very happening one! (Remember that opting for DJs such as Duke, Disha, Tanim, would mean booking them in advance.)

What is a great party without good fool? Pamper your guests with tasty tit bits and a taste-bud tingling dinner. A delicious array of Hors d'oeu~res would serve to whet the appetite of your guests. Try combinations of baked, marinated hot wings, cheese balls, st}ffed mushrooms, deviled eggs anl/or Bruschetta with a fresh salsa dip, all of which you would have to make at home. If you love to cook, this won't be a problem, but if you don't want to go into all that trouble, you could simply serve chips, nuts and finger sandwiches with drinks. Definitely include a spread of cheese and fresh fruit. Dinner may be a buffet, the food barbecued on the patio or lawn, fresh off the grill. If you want, you could opt for ordering from a number of kabab places such as Jeni Kabab, Kebab-E-Q and so on. Also, one has the option of ordering food at reasonable price ranges, from catering services offered by some Women Entrepreneur's Association (WEA) members. (Contact Midas Mini Mart.) Don't forget dessert; make your own sweet treats or order from places like Club Gelato and King's Confectionery.

As if that wasn'| enough, add one last ingenious touch and transform your party into a veritable funhouse, with charming additions such as a fortune teller, a magician/ juggler, cotton candy maker, and so on. With such a great debut bash, don't be surprised when your friends and relatives are begging you to host more parties in the future.

One final word of advice would be, to not forget that a good party must also be a safe one. Certainly let local law enforcing authorities know you're throwing a party; you may also hire private secuzity companies (Securex, Group 4 Falck, etc) for surveillance anl car parking services. If you're planning on a night out in town, clubs such as IC and Gulshan Club are hosting New Year's Eve parties. The latter will be organizing a family event (for members and their families only), while IC is bringing in a live band (Souls) and foreign DJ's. All these venues will have appropriate security measures from the Gulshan Police and surrounding embassies.

Winter brings with her a burst of good will and renewed hope, and what better way to usher in a brand new year than by celebrating it to the brim with friends and loved ones? T'is certainly the season to be jolly, so live it up!

By Rubaiyat Khan

Check it out

Hitachi in Bangladesh

Made in Japan the world famous brand Hitachi air conditioner is now available in Bangladesh. It is fashionable, it has ability to check virus, and it is environment friendly features that people want in a product these days. In addition, is consumes less electricity, which serves a very important purpose in a country of load shedding like ours. It has three years warranty.
The product is marketed by Asia Electronic. The company plans to introduce more attractive products soon. Besides expanding their product base, the group is also expanding its sales and service network across the country.

Kay Krafts winter collection

A Friday gives you fzee time to check out what is happening around town. So make youz way towards Kay Krafts showroom in new Bailey Road. There you can find the latest offerings by Kay Kraft for the winter. Mostly you can find shawls, scarves and other winter attire. Shawls for women are found for 225 to 425 taka including woolen pieces. These can be found with jacquard prints. For men the shawls are priced within 225 to 350 taka.

Also available are mufflers and scarves starting from 60 taka. Fatuas and tops for both sexes are available for 250 to 550 taka. All the outfits and accessories are available in a wide range or patterns and colors. The event includes winters special pithaas for the visiting guests.

- LS Desk

TIPS
Looking for good luck!

While surfing the net we came across some interesting rituals that go around the world on New Year's Eve to ensure good luck the coming year. Check it out and see whether you too, want to try a few because we know for sure that we all need pots and pots full of good luck to get us through the year.

The 31st of December in Scotland is a celebration with its roots in Pagan times, including that of "first footing." This custom states that the first foot inside your door after midnight will foretell of the next year's fortune. For this reason you would want an especially fortunate person to be the first to enter. New brides, new mothers, or anyone born on January 1st were much in demand as 'first footers."

It is said that it is especially good luck if your first footer is a tall dark man. That sounds like good luck to us. Send him our way if you happen to know one.

Black eyed peas, cabbage and collard greens remained an important part of the New Year's Eve celebration, black eyed peas to insure a coming year filled with luck and greens to insure plenty of money. The greens can be cabbage, spinach or any other type of green leafy vegetable.

It is a Cuban tradition to eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. The 12 grapes signify the next twelve months of the year.

In the Philippines, it is important to have food on the table at midnight in order to insure an abundance of food in the upcoming year. .

We wish our readers, who like is, is looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, good luck.

-LS Desk

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New Year bash

Planning for a New Year party at your home? Then check the following list to spot if anything has missed out of your celebration preparation.

Chalk out the whole plan at least 3 days ahead. Make a list of all the titbits, lrinks and home decoration items that you would buy for this gala occasion. Make a list of your guests so that none of your favourite buddies are left out.
Make sure that you buy all the snacks, titbits and hors d'oeuvres by the evening of the 31st December. Check out King's confectionery and Cooper's for tasty morsels. And opt for items that are not drippy or stikky. Also keep food away from your expensive furniture, electrical gadgets and carpet.

Music is an essential element in such an exciting celebration. Select carefully the discs that you would play at your party. Have a variety of music available.

Ensure that your guests be able to safely park their cars. If you don't have enough space in your garage and in front or back of your house, then promise them that you'd drop them at their places after the party is over.

Remove all the chairs from the party area so that the guests can stand next to each other, chat and enjoy. Removing seats will definitely create room for people and allow them to mingle.

Written invitations are a great idea. Try to make them fun and different. But don't forget the basics like time of arrival. Tell your guests when the party starts and when it will end. Specify the hour in advance to avoid confusion. Also let the guests know the resl code of your party if any.

With the proper ingredients in place everyone should have a fantastic time. So, wishing you all a smashing New Year Eve. Enjoy!

By Wara Karim