The mood of your party is 88% of it's popularity!

Presentation ~

• Consider a dessert sampler as a center piece. A few different kinds of pastries laid neatly side by side on an attractive dessert platter will make your party an instant success. It creates the impression of luxury and it is very convenient.

• Keep coffee and all the necessaries for it on a separate table. It should be smaller and kept safely to the side of the desserts. Table cloths are great for this kind of thing. Keep your coffee pot on an additional cloth napkin. It will keep the spills under control and your table looking neater.

Desserts to help with ambiance ~

• Keep everyone in a relaxed mood. Consider dessert and coffee combinations. Some coffee is better served with cream puffs than tiramisu. For instance; tiramisu means pick me up. You do not want to serve this coffee soaked dessert with more caffeinated coffee on the side. In fact you may not want to serve coffee at all but if you do, make sure that decaf is an option. (By the way Tiramisu tastes great with milk.) Keeping these kinds of things in mind when throwing a party, makes all of the difference.

The Look and Feel ~

• You can color coordinate your dessert display. Cocktail napkins are great for colors. I threw a party recently and used Cr me colored napkins for the Chocolate Mousse Cake and espresso, and Pastel Green colored napkins for the Petit Fours and Brazilian coffee. I kept both combinations on opposite sides of the table. My guests loved the color coding and found their way around the table much easier.