This fattie likes to party.
I sometimes think that adults forget to play. Things like hobbies and social time with friends can get pushed aside in favor of responsibility. But I think claiming some leisure time for yourself is an important part of self-care.
So, while I may be on the cusp of my late thirties, I still find time to party. We call our gatherings “low rent cocktail parties.”
My husbands a mixologist, which just means he like to make fancy cocktails. He’s like an amateur bartender, except he’s more knowledgeable about cocktails than most bartenders. (He’s keeping his amateur status so he can play in the bartender Olympics.;p)
The “low rent” part of our parties comes from the casual dress and the pot luck style of our bar. Instead of spending $20+ to go to a bar, we can buy one bottle of booze. Following that same line of logic, our friends periodically help us restock the bar. A little fruit and ice and soda and it’s a party!
We don’t party every weekend. I don’t have the stamina for that (or the funds.) But each month we put aside a weekend to have friends over. And, yes, the feature of these parties is alcohol…but most of our friends are well past the drinking-to-get-drunk part of their lives.
The funny part of me being the hostess of these parties is that I don’t really drink. On rare occasions I’ll partake of a capful of gin in a tall glass of tonic. Even without joining in on the libations, I love having great conversations with our smart and amusingly tipsy friends.
The side effect of having a mixologist for a husband is that I now know an odd collection of cocktail facts. For instance, the most popular cocktail at our parties is the French 75. It’s a mix of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and champagne.
You may be scowling at my multiple mentions of gin but our parties have converted many a gin-hater by introducing them to the finer versions of that particular spirit. Because gin is flavored with a mix of botanicals, brand really does matter.
Cocktail parties may not be your cup of tea and there’s nothing wrong with that…but I think there’s something to be said about finding something you enjoy and putting aside time to do it. It can be something small (like reading a book) or something bigger (like going on an adventure).
Just like everyone else in this world, I think us fatties deserve to get some fun out of life. I hope you have something in your life that gives you the same sense of pleasure that hosting “low rent cocktail parties” offers me.
My husband introduced me to local baseball games this past summer. The Northwoods League has teams in towns close to us (25, 40, 45 miles away) and we usually go to the games in the town closest to us. I had never been to a baseball game, but these are actually fun, with give-ways of merchandise at some of the games, games for the kids between innings, theme songs for the home team batters, snippits of songs played when mistakes are made (pitcher hits the batter - they play “I’m sorry”, they’re replacing the pitcher - they play “Hit the road, Jack”, batter gets walked - they play “These boots are made for walkin’”, etc). We go on the nights they have games and that DH doesn’t have to work and make a night out of it, and have a ball.
We also have family over for “movie nights” where we pick out a couple of dvds and pop popcorn and sit around watching the movies and sometimes making fun of the mistakes we find in them. And then I have my sewing, cross-stitching, scratch art, reading, Pogo games, and blogging to entertain me when DH is working.
I’ve always had my play time/relaxation time and wouldn’t give it up for any reason (DH has his too, he likes watching the cartoons on Boomerang when he gets home from work, it’s how he unwinds from a stressful day).
I love Gin, and French 75s! If you can convince someone to bring St. Germain ($$$), there’s a French 75 variant that uses Gin, St. Germain, and champagne, and it’s lovely.
Have you looked into mocktails? Done right, they can be every bit as complex and interesting as a good cocktail. My husband doesn’t drink at all, and one of our favorite restaurants makes amazing mocktails. Their bartender will also create something on the spot to pair with your dinner, and they’ve never gone wrong. (they make their own ginger beer on site, among other things…)
I keep saying we need to throw a mocktail party (featuring both mocktails and mock-mocktails).
My favorite thing to do to relax and just have fun with my friends is get out the dice, pencils and papers, and get an RPG going. Generally we stick to medieval fantasy like Dungeons and Dragons, or more lately, Pathfinder by Paizo, but tonight we started our very first Conspiracy X game. I don’t make plans on Saturday nights because that night is set aside for a specific group of friends.
We play WoW for our entertainment, and thanks to a teeny inheritance from the passing of my father earlier this year, a big flat panel hdtv and blue ray replaced movie going. We’ve had pot luck night, Sunday potluck brunch, gaming night, LAN parties, all kinds of cheap entertainment. If you play card games, I highly reccomend Flux, or the ever popular Stoner Flux. (And no, you don’t have to smoke to play it, but it helps!) Once we get our solar/wood heated furo up and running, we’ll be stylin’! Happy playtime peeps!
The hubby and I were seriously getting into cocktails, then he went had to come down with pacreatitis, so no more alcohol for him. I still make the occasional martini (vodka, shaken). When we do have friends over, I will break out the barware and booze and whip up something yummy for people to partake.
Now that I have the house clean again, I think it is time to have people over for a movie party, cocktails and appetizers
Not too mention getting a friend and her hubby over for Mahjong and martinis.