It's true, I love to entertain. Over the past twenty or so years, my husband and I have hosted some of the most fun parties that our friends have ever attended. The key ingredients are an unusual mix of people, great food, an activity to get your guests interacting and something really interesting to make the evening memorable.

We have hosted murder mysteries, progressive dinners, competitions, and interactive cooking games. Having a theme of some sort is really important. Don't worry if you aren't creative or don't have a lot of spare time - you can even buy everything you need to host a perfect party online.

One of the easiest parties to host is a THEME dinner. This type of dinner party works best with 3 or 4 couples who share a love of food, cooking, and entertaining. We'd have monthly parties, taking turns at being hosts.

The hosts pick a theme for the dinner; such as, French Country, Italian, Caribbean, or Cowboy Gourmet. The next step is to scan through your cookbooks or go on-line to find recipes and create a menu. The host assigns each couple to one or more dishes and provides them with a copy of the recipe. The host may also suggest a wine for them to bring to accompany their dish.

At the appointed date and hour, the guests show up at your door with their prepared dishes in hand. All you have to do is set the table and enjoy. Because the cooking duties are shared and guests come with their courses already prepared, you don't need to have a large kitchen for this type of dinner party. We've had THEME dinners for eight aboard our sailboat.

One of the things that makes this type of party so much fun is that you get to try new recipes and taste new dishes that you might not otherwise have tried. I remember one party where I was assigned to make curried coconut chips (from fresh coconuts) - something I never would have attempted before (or since).

Here is a sample menu from a "Cowboy Gourmet" Themed Dinner hosted by my friends Bev and Bob:

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Baby Greens Salad with Goat Cheese and Spicy Pecans

Oven Roasted Tenderloiin of Pork with Corn Bread Dressing

Buttermilk Pie with Rum Soaked Raisins

We have purchased and hosted several "parties in a box" and all have been great hits. This type of dinner party works for anywhere from 6 to 20 people - depending upon how much space you have for entertaining and dining. You purchase one of these murder mysteries parties at bookstores, party or game stores, or on-line (either shipped to you or downloaded). Typically you get a complete instruction book for the hosts that suggests a menu (with recipes), decorating ideas, costume ideas for guests and other details to guide you step-by-step through the party. Some sets come with cassettes or CDs that you play at certain times during the evening. There will also be invitations, booklets and clues that you give to your guests so that they know how to dress and what to do. As the evening progesses, more clues are revealed about a murder that has taken place; until finally the guests are given the opportunity to guess who they think did it. It's fun to have prizes on hand for the winners.

Our first murder mystery dinner was set in a Chicago Bar. The menu was retro drinks (martinis, manhattans, etc.) and fancy appetizers. Our house at the time had a full wet-bar so all we had to add for decorations were some beer and liquor signs (our local liquor store gave them to us) and juke box (rent one or use a full-sized paper cutout from a party store). Our guests came in costume as their assigned characters. There was a country-western star, airline pilot, kung-fo master, sex therapist, reporter, cop, bartender, etc.

The more that your guests get into their characters, the more fun you'll all have. Try not to assign real-life couples to characters who are couples - mix things up. Also give your guests plenty of time to prepare for their roles. If the mystery takes place during another time period - send them new articles and information about that period.

Another type of really fun dinner party is where the guests do the cooking. We've hosted several of these - they are easy to host, tremendous fun and our guests love them. The basic premise is that guests show up at your house for a dinner party; you provide the food, kitchen, equipment, and encouragement; while your guests prepare the meal. Like the Murder Mystery Dinners, there are "cooking parties in a box" that you can buy. Here are two different ones that we've tried:

STIR CRAZY - For anyone who watches the food channel, Stir Crazy is kind of a home-edition of Iron Chef. This dinner party game comes in three variations (Italian, Japanese, Mexican). Each includes a list of grocery items that you buy (or you can divvie up the list and have each person bring a couple items). There are also chefs hats, aprons, name tags, a game spinner, and detailed instructions for the host.

When your guests show up, you assign them to one of two teams. Each team selects a head chef. All of the grocery items are laid out on a table. After briefing everyone on how the game works, teams are given 15 minutes or so to strategize. During this time and throughout the evening, the host serves beverages and snacks, and helps each team locate cookware and other items that they need.

Teams take turn spinning for chances to select an item from the table, take an item from the other team, give an item to the other team, etc. until all the groceries are divided up. The teams then have 90 minutes to create three dishes (appetizer, main dish and dessert in the Italian version of the game). Cookbooks are NOT allowed. Teams think up creative names for their dishes and set them out buffet style for everyone to try. Guests vote for the best tasting, most creative, and worst tastng dishes.

CONVIVIUM COOKIING GAME - This is a board game and dinner party combined. It is available from www.thecookinggame.com. Guests play three rounds of a trivia type game. At the end of each round, they are assigned as cooks, waiters, bartenders, etc. based on how they did in the game. The game comes with everything you need; invitations, music and decor suggestions, shopping lists, recipes, etc. Once you've purchased the initial game set, there are nearly a dozen themed-menus you can select and download for free from the website so the game can be used over and over.

We recently hosted the "Key West" Dinner. The recipes were great tasting and easy to prepare. As usual, everyone had a ball and can't wait to be invited to another dinner party.