The party doesn’t take off. People aren’t clicking, the conversation isn’t flowing, and it doesn’t feel fun.

-Be proactive about setting a good atmosphere. Make sure you have a good playlist. Pick music that is uplifting and not too jarring, and put on a playlist that has at least 5 hours on it so you don’t need to worry about getting up to change it.

-In a pinch, or if you don't want to play DJ, use a free site like Pandora or Songza to stream music all night long. There also are multitudes of free dinner playlists out there.

-Put appetizers in more than one place so that people don’t all congregate around one table. A wonderful tip I’ve been given to encourage guests to eat is to make a slightly messy cheese plate: Cut into the cheeses, eat an olive and leave a pit out, and so on. This ensures that no one feels awkward about being the first person to start eating.

-Introduce your guests to each other with a short sentence about them to help break the ice, Bridget Jones-style: “Mark Darcy is a top barrister. Perpetua’s one of my work colleagues.” You also can introduce two people to each other by sharing what they have in common, thereby starting a conversation for them.

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