July 1, 2012

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My relationships with my girlfriends are one of the most important things in my life.  The women I consider some of my dearest friends took a long time to find, and some I’ve only known for a few years.  While they aren’t women I’ve grown up with or even went to college with, I value and treasure their friendship just the same and try to make an effort to get together with them, without the kids as often as I can.  The other night I invited a few friends over for a girl’s night in to eat, drink and watch an all time classic movie, Dirty Dancing. Of course we had a great time.  We could honestly have a great time huddled around a box of crackers sharing a bottle of wine, but special treats and a good movie increase the fun quotient.  While I sometimes go more on the formal side when entertaining friends, I usually tend to lean more towards comfortable and casual, but regardless, I always follow a few simple rules when entertaining my girls:

– Offer both sweet and savory treats: Not every woman loves sweets, so I always make sure to offer something simple like cheese and crackers or chips and salsa (or both as is the case this night).

-When it comes to sweets, offer a simple dessert as well as something decadent: Not every woman goes head over heels for a piece of chocolate caramel marshmallow cream cake.  I certainly don’t.  Some women like more subtle flavors so I served Skinny Cow desserts alongside some cream cookies and snickerdoodles.  I love Skinny Cow because none of their ice cream bars are sticky sweet (and healthy too!).

– As much as I find it hard to believe, not every girl drinks wine at girl’s night: For obvious reasons I did not partake in any alcoholic beverages the other night, but neither did another girl because she was the driver.  So always make sure to offer a fun and fancy non-alcoholic beverage in addition to your wine and beer offerings.  There’s nothing sadder than a girl having to sip plain ol’ water out of a straw during girl’s night when everyone else is whooping it up.  Put out some fun sparkly drinks like Sparkling berry lemonade or make a ginger ale spritzer.  This way no one feels left out.

– Flowers and lit candles set the tone and show you care: I love opening up my home to friends and adding special little touches to show I’ve taken time to prepare for them.  While an invitation to someone’s home is always meaningful, when you walk in and feel the love and time they’ve put into hosting you, you can’t help but feel special.  Buy a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store and light some candles; those little touches will go a long way.

– For movie night, take a poll of what everyone wants to see: Sometimes there’s a great new release out that everyone is dying to see, but when in doubt, always go for a throwback movie.  Movies from your youth and teenage years are always a hit because there’s an instant connection, and everyone can sit around and reminisce, and anticipate the moments that will make you laugh and cry.  Dirty Dancing is a perfect example.  All night we kept saying “No one puts Baby in the corner.”  P.S. Did you know it’s coming up on 25 years since Dirty Dancing was released?!?!  Dude, I feel old! What’s your favorite thing to do for girl’s night in?  Do you play games, make a craft or watch a movie?  We’ve done all three and I think sitting back and watching a movie is probably the most relaxing.  Let me know if you have any other tips for hosting a perfect girl’s night in.

As part of the DailyBuzz Style Community, I received a stipend, DVD, and coupons for free Skinny Cow® product.