HOW TO THROW A KICKASS STRICTLY LAUNCH PARTY

I have been a fan of Strictly Come Dancing ever since I can remember. I am not sure what the exact thing is that makes me so obsessed. Yet, a few ideas that come to mind are that I have been brought up in a dance/theatre family, I used to be a dancer myself, my parents used to live with Bruno Tonioli (honestly! Lots of funny stories there) and I have so many fond memories of watching the show with my friends and family…oh and a HUGE point is that it signifies the lead up to Christmas, my most favourite time of year in the whole world. On Saturday the launch show is being aired and with any excuse for a celebration I will be cancelling any plans of venturing outside my house and will be glued to the TV for every sequin second. Every year Liam and I hold launch parties or finale parties or general Saturday Strictly parties so I wanted to share with you my top tips on how to throw the most kickass strictly launch party you can possibly conjure. The only way I would leave the house on a Strictly launch or finale night would be if the BBC actually invited me to watch…

PREPARATION

Preparation is the key here. Strictly is actually a very difficult program to watch and entertain guests to or even eat for that matter. Preparing the food, the drinks and the comfort before your guests arrive is key. I like to decide on drinks that don’t require a lot of “making” like Prosecco or a pre made punch. It’s great if you have an ice bucket in your living room with with a bottle, San Leo do a fabulous and affordable magnum bottle of Prosecco which will allow you to stay in the room rather than rushing back and forth to the fridge for more bottles. Last year, for the finale we fancied up our glasses of fizz by popping in a few cranberries and pomegranate seeds in the glass before guests arrived. When you pour in the fizz the cranberries float and the pomegranates sink creating a super pretty glass of fizz with little effort.

WHAT TO EAT

The best meals to serve during Strictly are those that are pre made, so a pasta bake, soup, lentil salad are all amazing plans. What I am planning on making this Saturday though is a jacket potato station. I am going to have the jacket potatoes pre cooked and have bowls of different toppings like, baked beans, cheeses, tuna, cooked peppers, broccoli sticks, rocket and the best will be my mums homemade coleslaw…eek I am so hungry just thinking about this.

WHAT TO WEAR

I am sure when you think of a party for Strictly you think that you should wear something glamorous and glittery but no… I actually believe that you need to be comfortable for this important viewing hehe. I like to wear the comfiest cosy PJs I own or if I want to get dressed I have a trusty stretchy black velvet dress from many years ago that I bought in Primark or H&M (sounds nasty doesn’t it, but it’s actually really pretty). It’s up to you what you want you and your guests to go for but my favourite occasion was when I had a few of my closest friends over and we all wore matching Christmas PJ’s…that was just a regular Strictly Saturday a bit closer to Christmas though.

What are your Strictly traditions?