Planning a party? Mumbai cheesemaker, emcee and DJ tell you how to get the party started

How do you organise a party? What kind of food should be there? Do you make a music playlist in the Spotify era? Do you have games? A lot of these questions are going to be racing through our minds while we bring in the festive spirit this festive season with Christmas and New Year around the corner.

It's that time of the year when there are always going to be a lot of parties hosted every other day. While some of them are with family, there are others with friends. Some will be small, some will be big. Either way, hosting a party is no easy task because everyone wants theirs to be the best. If people don't know how to host parties, Mumbai's party trend setters say you don't need to fret. There are many ways to turn your party into a hit.

Say cheese!

While it is easy to order finger food, there is a lot more that can be done with other kinds of dishes for people to dig into. Mumbai-based Mausam Narang, whose Eleftheria Cheese has won several accolades at the World Cheese Awards over the years, says cheese can be quite a party snack. Cheese boards have become really popular at parties in the last year. For the uninitiated, a cheese board is typically a board with different types of cheeses, paired with different kinds of fruits that go well with each other.

She explains, "A well-rounded cheese board typically includes a variety of cheeses, such as soft, semi-soft and hard. They can be complemented with crackers, bread, and fresh fruits and fruit preserves alternatively. A cheese board always needs a carrier for cheese like some good quality bread & crackers." Beyond that, she says you can add condiments like mustards, tapenade, and honey that pair beautifully with a lot of cheeses. "Add texture and flavour with roasted nuts like almonds, pistachios, walnuts and dried apricots and figs. A combination of flavours, textures, and accompaniments creates a balanced cheeseboard," adds the city-based cheesemaker, who started making different kinds of cheese in 2014.

As far as Mumbaikars go, Narang says we love pairing our cheeses with indigenous local condiments, preserves, crackers, and flatbreads. She explains, "Cloth-bound cheddar pairs beautifully with sweet and sour mango chutney or preserves."

While it may sound like a challenge, Narang says creating a cheese board doesn't have to be complicated or fancy. "You can choose your favourite cheeses, such as soft, semi-soft, or hard varieties. Add a variety of crackers, breadsticks, and even Indian crackers like khakhra for texture." The boards can also include some roasted nuts and seasonal fruits that are readily available in your pantry to pair with the cheeses. "Lastly, pair everything with your favourite accompaniments, such as chutney and fruit preserves," expresses Narang.

All fun and games

Food is important when there is a party, but there should also be games, especially during Christmas and New Year. "Firstly it depends on the type of audience," says Mira Road-based emcee Arnold Lobo, continuing, "If it is a big group, then divide everybody accordingly. Start with a warm-up game that would be to guess the Christmas Carols. People have to guess the song only with the help of the tune."

Keeping it Christmas-themed with the cheer since everyone usually celebrates the festival in Mumbai, Lobo says you can play dumb charades but instead of movies like it is popularly played, you can do it differently. "People can guess Christmas related stuff like Santa Claus and Christmas tree, sweets like kulkuls and coconut sweets. It is a little difficult and not as easy as guessing a movie," he adds. In a similar fun game, people can play Heads Up, where one person sticks the card on their head and the other person has to guess the Christmas-themed words.

Since Secret Santa is really popular, the 29-year-old Mumbaikar, who has been an emcee for five years now, says people can give each other gifts after picking up chits. At the same time, they can also be told to get decorations for the Christmas tree and the crib together as family and friends. They can also play a game of dressing up as Santa Claus. Eventually, once the points add up, you can declare the winner.

Groove to the music

With the food and games sorted, don't forget to cue the music. Most people definitely have Spotify tuned in and if you can already make the playlist there, then that just makes life easier. However, Mumbaikar Ranson Corda, who has been a disc jockey (DJ) for more than 23 years now says you can do a lot more. "The applications like Spotify and YouTube music are the best platform for playlists for festivals like Christmas." Even though 37-year-old Corda says he isn't much of a Spotify user, he uses YouTube music extensively because their auto playlist suggestions are more accurate than Spotify. "All you need to do is just search a Christmas song in YouTube Music like 'Jingle Bells Rock by Bobby Helm' and all your next tracks would be related to Christmas." It also gives you the opportunity to create a custom playlist by adding these tracks to your new playlist.

Additionally, Corda says if people are looking for specific genres, they can get non-stop DJ mixes on YouTube, which are almost hour-long sets, which can get your party grooving. What happens if you have bad internet? For that he says you need to get a hold of your DJ or shop at music stores around you. "Gone are the good old days when we used to go to Planet M and Rhythm House and buy CDs. These days you can download all these playlists online," he concludes. However, having done it himself, this writer believes you can always put songs in a pen drive and get the party started this festive season.