A Valentine Party with M&M’s® Red Velvet

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I love this time of year. Hearts in every shape and size are all over the place and red, in all its luscious shades, is everywhere you look. It’s heavenly. When I was offered the chance to throw a Valentine party with M&M’s® new flavor, Red Velvet, I was very excited. Now I had an excuse to plan and carry out a party with a theme of redness and hearts.

Parties to me are not about having everything just right. Of course I want the environment to be lovely, the food to be good, the table set nicely and to have everything finished by the time the guests arrive (this one is a struggle for me!) but the most important part is being with the people at the party. Talking, laughing, enjoying the company and being together, even if the ‘party’ is just my little family. By the time the party is happening, you want to be calm and relaxed (and maybe sneaking extra candy from the decorations like MJ above.) And to get to that sweet party spot of actually enjoying your own soiree, all you need to do is a bit of planning.

To ensure that I will actually enjoy the parties I throw, I start by making lists. I make a list about possible food and drink to serve and another one detailing decoration possibilities. From there, after checking recipes and decoration supplies, I make a list of the things I need to gather from groceries to extra seating to miscellaneous party supplies.

Once I have the parts gathered, I make a plan for what needs to happen and when. This timeline is dictated by what I choose to serve, where the party is located and what else is on the schedule. Party decorations can be put together long before the party, like the heart garlands I sewed together. Balloons, however, are better purchased the day of. Dish and serving ware should be collected before hand so the day of the party you aren’t digging through tubs in the garage for that one plate you wanted to use.

As for food and drink, depending on the spread, some recipes can be started ahead of time and some dishes can be made much earlier and frozen until party day. Include your family in party prep as well. My children love the decorating part of the holidays and I’m actually grateful for their help. It might not look perfect but I kinda like their unique touch and it frees me up to prep the food and maybe get my make-up on before guests arrive. Thoroughly thinking through all the parts of the party will help you in throwing and also enjoying a fabulous party. And if you are anything like me, making lists and crossing tasks off will prime your good mood for the party.

For extra fun (and a prettier scene), I asked a friend if I could use her darling downtown studio for the party; she has the sweetest style. I packed up my heart garlands, sweet treats – a red velvet cake and cookie bars with Valentine M&M’s® – and a cran-raspberry drink and headed to the studio. I also picked up lots and lots of M&M’s® Red Velvet candies at Walmart, plus plain M&M’s® and Dove Promises for variety. The candies were to share and eat of course, but I used them for decoration too. Their colors are perfect! We picked up heart balloons on the way. If we would have gotten them any earlier, chances are slim they would have survived until party time. One died shortly after the party ended of too much fun. I should have done a better job “modeling” a conversation between friends below instead of actually having one. Real conversations are more fun. :)

My favorite part of the party process, aside from being together with people I like, is the planning. The options are endless and the dreams can be as big as I want. It’s choosing color palettes and figuring out if I can make everything fit together. It’s deciding what food to have and what decorations to do. Then it’s breaking down my plans into steps and bring it all to life. What can I say. I’m a nerd at heart.

Get the hard work out of the way before the party so you can enjoy the real reason for gathering – being together.

So tell me, what is your favorite part of the party process, besides actually partying with friends and family? Dreaming and planning? Partying? Clean up?

See more great M&M’s® Red Velvet recipe and party ideas at myconfectioncorner.com/valentines-day where you can also download a coupon to save on your M&M’s® purchase.