What to offer at a drinks party

The best way to enjoy your drinks party is to keep it relatively simple offering a cocktail or two, a glass of good wine or a bottle of craft beer. Add a few party snacks and your guests are guaranteed to enjoy a relaxed time catching up with friends and family. The company, drinks and snacks are the focus of the occasion but add to the atmosphere with a few party decorations and some mellow background music.

Planning ahead

The key to a successful party is planning. Keep a list and tick off your preparations as you go. (Of course, last-minute, spontaneous parties are also great fun and with fast, reliable deliveries from foodpanda, they're certainly no hassle to organize!)

Two to four weeks in advance

• Set the date:The celebration might need to coincide with a birthday or anniversary although hosting your party at the weekend is always best.
• Sort the venue: Small parties are best held in the intimate surroundings of your own home especially if organizing your own food and drinks.
• Choose your guests:While the guest list might be dictated by the event, it's always good to mix things up so people can chat with old friends as well as meeting someone new.
• Invitations:Give as much warning as possible (unless it's a spur-of-the-moment do!). Invite guests via social media, text or phone call or in a more personalized way with a handwritten invitation. Always lovely to receive.

The week before the big event

Now plan the fine details. Make life easy by ordering your drinks and snacks from foodpanda. Take advantage of a wide choice of local vendors and fast, reliable deliveries with competitive delivery charges. We can even deliver your party decorations.

• Food: Your guests will want to mingle, and chat so simple finger foods are best. Savoury tartlets, canapés, crisps and mini cakes are ideal. For extra sophistication, make a delicious cheese board the centrepiece of your buffet table.
• Drink: Champagne, cocktails (champagne cocktails even!), wine and craft beer are all highly acceptable. If you're serving cocktails, prepare ingredients in advance or choose a couple that can be made in advance. Even better, persuade a friend or family member to act as cocktail-maker-in-chief.
• Decorations: These aren't essential but add a little something especially if the party is to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. Pretty tablecloths, flowers and candles (safely placed) all add to the atmosphere.
• Music: All you need is some soft music playing in the background.
• Designated drivers or taxis: OK, this might sound dull, but you want your guests to get home safely so they can come again. Make sure you have some taxi numbers to hand.

A helping hand from foodpanda

Whether your drinks party is an elaborate event and budget is not an issue or whether you have to watch the expanses, foodpanda can help. There is a wide choice of carefully selected drinks and snacks vendors across Hong Kong. Once you've chosen your shops and made your order, it will be delivered to your chosen address saving you the time and hassle of going out to shop. Here are our recommended places to shop for the occasion.

For alcohol:

• Chillers: for good quality wine, champagne and beer as well as all the spirits and mixers you need to make your favourite cocktails.
• Bacchus Fine Wine: If excellent wine is the focus of your party and you like to experiment with labels from around the globe, then this is for you.
• Gweilo Beer: This is the place for craft beers and ciders.
• OZU Bar & Grill: Order your cocktails ready-made from here or treat your guests to some local saké.
• Wine Not by Classified: With one of the most extensive wine lists in town and cheeses to accompany it, this is almost a one-stop party shop.

For your snacks:

Whether you want to buy ready-made snacks or create your own, you'll find what you need here:

• Abouthai (NCR): For nibbles, nuts, biscuits and crackers.
• Marks & Spencer: Whatever the occasion, M&S never fails when it comes to party food.
• Okashi Land: This is the place for snacks that evoke a taste of the Far East.
• FoodWise: With party snacks and raw ingredients, this is another one-stop party shop.
• Hanjuku Kobo: Its tarts to share or individual cheesecakes make the perfect party desserts.