Entertaining Friday: A Year of Parties

At the beginning of every January, my friends and I start worrying that we don't have anything planned. Having just come off of a busy Christmas/birthday season, somehow it feels like we've got this vast expanse of time in front of us, and like we're never, ever going to see people socially again.

So we start planning. And that is how we, invariably, end up with every weekend from January to April booked up. That's fine with me - I like having plans - but I think it might be smart for us to give it more of a long-view approach. Plan way ahead. Decide, roughly, on the best excuses for a party every month and go from there.

So that's what I'm going to do - right here:

• January: Chinese New Year celebration (costumes! Chinese food!)
• February: Valentine's Day wine tasting (prizes!)
• March: St. Patrick's Day (obviously. In our house, this involves more than one weekend.)
• April: Maybe the return of the Sunday all-day brunch? Grilled cheese party?
• May: Memorial Day! Last year we spent all day Sunday at Boordy, then came back to our house to grill steaks at night. I think that's a good way to kick off summer.
• June: Our annual beach trip!
• July: Fourth of July - parade and cookout
• August: This past year, we had a boys/girls weekend at the end of August. The boys played poker at Jen and Bill's and the girls and kids came over here for a sleepover. It was great.
• September: Labor Day (at the beach). Plus, Dixon's birthday.
• October: This year, it'll be Tom and Cail's wedding in New Orleans. But maybe next year we'll revive the barn party, which was so much fun.
• November: Mock Thanksgiving (plus real Thanksgiving, of course)
• December: The double-birthday (Kit and Cooper) and Christmas parties, of course.

Tired yet? No. I'm not either.