Celebration Drinks

People love to party. That almost every day of the year is designated an official holiday or commemorative day for one reason or another is testament to the human ‘joie de vive’. Still, those many official days don’t always satisfy the need to laugh and have fun with family and friends. No problem. We’ve devised a life-long list of personal celebrations to fill in any gaps.

Celebrations call for celebration drinks and plenty of food to keep the celebrations lively. The good host will never go wrong when serving champagne or the favorite drink of the event’s guest(s) of honor. Round out the drink menu with beer and wine to cover the interests of most guests and the celebration will soon be in full swing.

In many cases, celebrations do honor someone in particular and toasts will be proposed. Champagne toasts are traditional but there are no hard and fast rules, especially for private parties. There’s no reason everyone raising a toast has to be sipping the same beverage. Just make sure every glass has something in it because toasting with an empty glass conjures up bad luck.

Alcohol-fueled birthday parties are best reserved for the 21st birthday and beyond. Underage drinking is illegal and, as laws get tougher, hosts serving drinks to minors, even at home, are finding themselves in hot water.

For this same legal reason, alcoholic celebration drinks for graduation parties should be reserved until graduation from college. There are always alumni parties and class reunions to celebrate with the liquor flowing as the years go by.

Most people are quite happy with beer and wine at celebrations and they’ve become the standard beverages served at American weddings. It’s just easier to please a big crowd by keeping things simple. If a special celebration drink is desired, why not make a punch, laced with vodka, wine, or champagne, that’s flavored with a fruit juice that matches the colors the bride’s chosen for her wedding party?

Bachelor and bachelorette parties seem to work best as nights on the town but hosting one at a private residence isn’t out of the question. Serve the soon-to-be-married honoree’s favorite drink or brew up a concoction with a decadent or suggestive name such as a Playboy Cooler, Cherry Blossom, Between the Sheets, Sweet Offering, and Down Yonder. Make note of the beverage menu so it can be repeated at anniversary parties in the future.

Housewarming parties are cause for special celebration drinks, too. Moving lakeside or to the beach? Serve Surfsiders, Shore Leaves, and Fish-House Punch. Simplifying with life in the country? Serve Prairie Oyster, Sanctuary, or Woodstock cocktails. Life in the city? Serve Golden Gate, Bronx, or Maui cocktails. Any of these drink ideas work for farewell celebrations, too, depending on where the honoree is going.

A little more decorum may be in order when celebrating promotions, business expansions, and retirement parties where bosses and co-workers are invited. Keep things simple and tasteful for these events. Beer, wine, and champagne cover all the bases.

Tail-gate and Super Bowl parties have become one of America’s favorite celebration excuses and drink menus for these parties are pretty straightforward – beer!

If movies or the theater are a big part of your life, invite friends over for before-show cocktails. Keep it short and simple; you’ll need to sit still and be alert for the next couple of hours. After-show coffee and cognac is a nice touch, too. If the show in question has a food or beverage theme, by all means, use it. Serve light refreshments and encourage guests to share their opinions of the show.

Invite movie buffs over for Oscar Night. Sip on Golden Cadillacs, Red Carpets, Strawberry Blondes, Hollywood Nuts, and Shoo-ins and bet on Academy Award winners.

Block parties are gaining in popularity, especially those encouraged on a nationwide basis, like National Night Out in August and globally observed Earth Hour in March. Organizers, rather than hosts, are behind these celebrations and encouraging neighbors to contribute to a communal table or cooler is the norm instead of one household providing all the fun.

Want to have a party but there’s nothing to celebrate? Call friends and family over, right now, for an impromptu celebration of today. Serve whatever happens to be on hand, with a side of hearty laughter, and everyone will go home happy.