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 There’s no safe level of alcohol consumption for children under 18. Their bodies and brains are still developing and can be easily damaged. You can find more information in our article on preventing or limiting teenage alcohol use.

 The holidays are juuuust around the corner. Don’t think so? Blink your eyes. Before you open those lids, you’ll be elbow deep in gravy then eggnog then trying to remember the lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne.” Our point? Party season fast approaches, and riches such as wild fame in your friend group and widespread admiration are yours to be had.

 We’ve asked four of the city’s top event planners to hit us with their tips and tricks, do’s and don’ts for planning gatherings that guests will remember. We even got a couple disasters, because hey, we’re all human. No matter how good you are, sometimes the masters are no match for a mighty wind.

 Kevin: Before you start planning anything, ask yourself why you’re even having the party. It can be a profound reason, like celebrating 30 years of marriage. Or it can be trivial, like you have a fabulous dress hanging in your closet that isn’t getting enough showtime. All that matters is that you really believe in your reason, you’re excited about it, and you deserve it.

 Miriam: If it’s hot and humid, consider shaded areas (umbrellas, gazebos, trees). Maybe start the event late evening. Weather also affects how many drinks you should have for guests, and the type. In cold weather, you want bonfires or space heaters.

 Miriam: If you have vendors working the event, like catering, photography, and bartenders, make sure they know all of the details they need in a timely manner so they can do their job effectively and smoothly without issues! Communication is key. When this is great, you have great results.

 Alexandria: Avoid getting overwhelmed and looking like it. Take a deep breath and walk out with a smile on your face. Have a drink, but not too many. Nobody wants a visibly stressed or drunk host (I have been her and it wasn’t cute).

 Kevin: I’m going to switch this around and say the most common mistake people make as guests is to come empty-handed. Bring a gift, a bottle of something (don’t bring cheap stuff), a bouquet of flowers, or a thoughtful card. If someone is going to go out of their way to show you a good time, you should have the forethought to say thank you.

 Kevin: Think of a party as a movie. There are moments of back story, build up, suspense, climax, drama, laughter, sadness, tension and release. Write all of those into the script of the party and think of ways to capture it with how you pace the music, dancing, food, drinks, activities and movement. This also means that you’ll have to be the director. Tell people what to do and how to do it. Trust me, people like to be told what to do when it’s in their best interest.

 Kevin: Bring familiar surprises. It doesn’t matter if they’re big surprises or little ones. Pull out a bottle of rare wine that you and your friend discovered on that trip years ago. Play a slideshow of pics you gathered from your dad’s relatives and friends of his entire life for his 80th birthday with Sinatra singing ‘My Way’ in the background.

 Alexandria: You want people to leave your event remembering how it made them feel—and a huge part of that is music and lighting. You could have the very best food, the very best service, but if it’s too bright or the music isn’t vibing, then it wasn’t a good event.

 Elexia: Be very intentional and strategic about your guest list. Ultimately, people attend events and parties to socialize. You have to know your audience: which groups of people have potential to synergize and get along well. Your event can become the reference point for many new and meaningful connections if you invite the right mix of people.

 Elexia: There have definitely been oversights. I’ve hosted book signings that have been so popular, people have lined up outside our shop the night before and camped out. The first year we did this, we did not anticipate a few things: that people would need restrooms, and there would be conflict about order of arrival (there were prizes). This created more stress than was necessary. The next time around, we rented a porta potty, hired security, and were very clear with people about what we would and wouldn’t facilitate.

 Miriam: My biggest mistakes have been not considering high winds or weather. In the first year, I had so many issues with our umbrellas flying out and falling down, so now we have sand bags to hold the umbrellas and know our locations better, so we can be prepared. I was also setting up in the middle of the day when it was super hot, and it was uncomfortable for everyone. Now we only offer picnics at certain times of day, and this year everything has run more smoothly.

 The winter season is a magical time of year for millions of people worldwide, and many of those people choose to celebrate it by throwing a party. However, holiday parties tend to differ a bit from other parties and doing it wrong can result in a very uncomfortable event.

 If you're wondering how to prepare your house for a holiday party, the first step is to make sure it's safe. Check to see if all of the smoke detectors are working, and make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector.

 Roughly 1 out of every 20 Americans are vegetarians, and a large number of others are vegan. That means there's a pretty good chance that at least one of your guests won't eat meat. Make sure to set out vegetarian or vegan options so that they can join in on the fun.

 This step in the party planning guide is easy because holiday parties don't often have a lot of meat dishes. You could probably get by with cookies and eggnog. Also, when buying eggnog, make sure you get at least some non-alcoholic options.

 The holiday season is a hectic time, so planning a holiday party can be difficult. One of the best holiday party planning tips we can offer is to plan the party when people aren't likely to be busy.

Stripper Scottsdale

 This is easy for an office party, where the boss, to a large extent, decides when everyone is busy. In other settings, you'll need to plan around work. Saturdays are a very popular day for house parties. It occurs after people have had time to cool off from work, but it is early enough in the weekend that people will still have an opportunity to relax at home.

 Holiday parties offer a chance to get away from the hustle and stress of the season. Unfortunately, an uncomfortable or unsafe party won't do anybody much good. That's why it's important to plan your party ahead of time.

 CHEERS TO THAT If you’re doing it right, hosting a dinner party should not just look easy; it should also be easy, as well as delicious, engaging, affirming and fun for everyone (as in this casual gathering thrown together by our photo team). We called on two dinner-party partisans to lay out the ground rules for gathering as we begin to emerge from the isolation of lockdown.

 CHEERS TO THAT If you’re doing it right, hosting a dinner party should not just look easy; it should also be easy, as well as delicious, engaging, affirming and fun for everyone (as in this casual gathering thrown together by our photo team). We called on two dinner-party partisans to lay out the ground rules for gathering as we begin to emerge from the isolation of lockdown. Sidney Bensimon for The Wall Street Journal

 As we inch back toward social life, we all need a refresher on how to gather graciously. Two experts update their rules for making guests feel comfortable, safe, sated and like the very best versions of themselves. Plus: a recipe for effortless entertaining, Niçoise style.

 Unlike brunchers at a restaurant, we noted, dinner party hosts selflessly welcome friends and strangers into their homes, provide them with free food and in return ask only that no one spill wine on the Pomeranian. A dinner party, we said, is a safe space for the freewheeling exchange of ideas, where differences can be loudly debated and impromptu dancing is welcomed.

 And a dinner party is, we said, “recess for adults”—a blessed break from the pressures, consumerism and information-blitz of the outside world. We hoped to convince more people to host dinner parties. Without them, we warned, society would surely crumble, like the crust on a reheated brunch quiche.

 Well, here we all are, after an enforced yearlong dinner party drought, and…we told you so. Turns out, when you spend 13 solid months bingeing true-crime shows and fake-smiling through virtual meetings instead of actually getting together? It’s enough to leave even the most urbane and extroverted of social animals a little feral.

 Just when you thought you had put your event planning days behind you after having your wedding dress cleaned and preserved, you discover the daunting world of children’s birthday parties. Have kids’ parties always been such a thing? There’s so much pressure revolving around your child’s special day, from location to party favors to whether or not you really need to invite the entire class, that it can actually keep a parent up at night (and for some of us that insomnia carries on for weeks).

 What happened to the days when you could string up some balloons, bake a homemade birthday cake and call it a day? Experts and parents dish out their best advice for making your child’s birthday as stress-free and sensational as possible.

 You’ve probably heard the rule that you should invite as many kids to the party as there are candles on the cake. Ten friends for a 10-year-old; four friends for a 4-year-old. But not everyone follows this decree.

 Pro Tip: “Four kids! That’s not a celebration, that’s dinner with your family!” says Sharron Krull, party planner and author of That Was the Best Party Ever! How to Give Parties Your Kids Will Never Forget. Krull insists there are no hard-and-fast rules. Party budget, space constraints and your child’s wishes all help determine the size of the guest list.

 Parent Prowess: Charlotte Pierce’s daughter had a fairy-themed indoor party for her sixth birthday. Pierce invited 18 kids to create fairy houses out of moss, bark, twigs and dried flowers. But the project and the invite list proved to be too much.

 “Some of the kids were really high-energy and just wanted to run around. It was a huge mess,” Pierce recalls. “The twigs collapsed, so I had to use a glue gun, and there was lots of waiting around. The houses were sweet, but I was a wreck and it was frustrating for the kids. Eighteen was way too many kids for such an involved project. Never again.”

 “We came up with the idea of splitting the guests into three groups that traveled through the house to various stations for games and activities,” Murray says. “It took a lot of scheduling, but it worked really well. Her older brother manned the craft station, my husband ran the games station, and we were able to comfortably host the entire group.”

 Parent Prowess: Parents have mixed feelings about invitation alternatives. “My son once missed a birthday party because the invitation was a message left on our phone machine by the birthday child,” says Emily Twadell, a mother of three.