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"Although the parties I plan in my professional life are typically large events, entertaining on a smaller scale at home can be just as interesting\u2014and even more fun. My first suggestion: Greet your guests with a warm smile and a stiff drink. This time of year, I welcome friends with a Dark and Stormy (dark rum, ginger beer, and, conventionally, a lime wedge). It\u2019s the perfect cocktail to sip as the weather gets chillier but not quite cold enough for a hot toddy. I usually forgo the lime\u2014it feels too summery\u2014opting instead for a zesty garnish of candied ginger.\n\nPinterestFacebookKlieg lights back a bar he created. Photo: Keith Sirchio\n\nSpeaking of garnishes, too often people treat them as an afterthought, but they can transform a cocktail. Take the Bloody Mary (which isn\u2019t just for brunch, by the way). I like mine spicy and will garnish it with just about any pickled vegetable imaginable, though my favorites are okra and cauliflower. Another wonderful way to enhance a cocktail is with flavor-infused ice cubes, which add an extra kick that intensifies as they melt. The next time you\u2019re serving a dirty martini on the rocks, include a vermouth-and-olive-juice ice cube.\n\nPinterestFacebookA birthday dinner for architect Richard Meier. Photo: van Wyck &amp;amp; van Wyck\n\nAre your guests staying for dinner? If so, be sure to assign seating places. It\u2019s one of the most important things a host can do. Two rules: Always separate married couples, and put talkers next to listeners. For a bit of surprise, I\u2019ll sometimes have guests flip over their place cards before dessert to reveal a new name and prompt a seat change.\n\nPinterestFacebookA bar set up with Van Wyck\u2019s Arrowhead Farms drink mixes. Photo: Marco Ricca\n\nWhen it comes to table settings, beautiful doesn\u2019t have to mean elaborate. I like to keep flower arrangements very natural. In the fall there\u2019s nothing better than a mass of different dahlia varieties in rich jewel-like colors. Set them off with smoke bush, bittersweet, and burning-bush branches. And always give them a day to open up, so they\u2019ll look their best.\n\nPinterestFacebookOne of his tabletop settings. Photo: Philip Gabriel\n\nFor more ideas on how to make a party great as well as for stories about my events, check out my new Architectural Digest blog, Bronson\u2019s Last Call. I know more than anyone that fabulous parties aren\u2019t going to save the world, but they sure can help make it a more enjoyable place.\n\nSee how to mix the perfect Dark and Stormy in our video.\n\nMore on archdigest.com:\n\n Bronson van Wyck&amp;#39;s tips on stocking the perfect at home bar\n\n Discover bars around the world with design as amazing as their drinks"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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