The Guide to Ridiculously Easy Entertaining - Tips from Marfreless
This is one of several sections that provide some suggestions for excuses to entertain. The recognizable historical figures below led lives that were worthy of a celebration, if not a celebration of the cocktail life. The celebration can be as simple as an excuse for planning a happy hour. The short list below is weighted more toward earlier in the year, when you might be searching more so for an excuse to celebrate, and are also before the Christian Lenten season. In addition to our brief list, you might want to find another historic, or not so historic, figure to honor with a celebration.
Elvis – January 8 – Celebration of the music King of Rock and Roll can make for an inviting party. His music, maybe some of his food such as fried chicken, and peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Piña Coladas, but probably not Quaaludes. It is also a good excuse for at least one person to dress as Elvis.
Al Capone – January 17 – In case you have forgotten, Al Capone was a Neapolitan-American businessman who brought libations and entertainment to tens of thousands of Chicagoans during the 1920s and 1930s. A couple of his truisms were, “Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class,” and, “You can get more with a nice word and a gun than you can with a nice word.” His birthday can be an excuse for a gangster-themed costume party, a speakeasy-themed event, having a group over for braciole cooked in the Sunday gravy, or even one where you break out that bathtub gin recipe.
Federico Fellini – January 20 – The legendary Italian film director provided an array of fantastic surreal images in his films, especially in the ones after the famous La Dolce Vita, which itself can provide inspiration for a decadent celebration. Although finding a look-a-like for a young Anita Ekberg and having paparazzi(o) might take some effort.
Robert Burns – January 25 – The national poet of Scotland. His birthday is good reason to drink scotch whisky with a group; in excess, if need be. The Scots do it.
Rick James – February 1 – The “Super Freak,” one of greatest icons of the early 1980s excess, crept back into the national conscious with the help of several very funny skits on the Dave Chapelle Show, furthered by his untimely, drug-related death in 2004. A Rick James party would feature his rock-inflected funk music, of course, and possibly several of the illicit pleasures he used to enjoy on a very regular basis. Please respect the laws of your area, though.
James Joyce – February 2 – The fiction of this famous Irish author is characterized by experiments with symbolism, the use of stream of consciousness for large portions of the narrative, and that he stretched the English language to its limits (and beyond). If not on his birthday, Bloomsday, June 16, is possibly even a better day for celebration. This is the day that Joyce’s novel Ulysses is set, and a cause for celebration for Joyce fanatics worldwide. Bloomsday takes its name from the protagonist, Leopold Bloom, whose odyssey during the single day of June 16, 1904 through the streets, pubs and brothels of Dublin is the story. Don’t worry if you or most your guests have not read it, as hardly anyone has. It’s very difficult. That Joyce was Irish, Irish stout and plenty of Irish whiskey would be requisite for any event.
Saint Amaund – February 6 – The Roman Catholic Church has numerous saints who serve as patrons to various alcohol-related activities. A happy hour is more than appropriate on February 6, the feast day of Saint Amaund. He is the patron saint of brewers, barkeepers, bar staff, wine makers, vintners, and vine growers. If that is not reason enough, he is also the patron saint of the Boy Scouts. Really.
Ernest Hemingway – July 21 – One of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century was also a romantic figure and legendary boozer. No other book regularly assigned to high school students features anywhere near the amount of alcohol consumed as by the characters in The Sun Also Rises. Various themes could be Hemingway in Spain, Hemingway in Cuba, Hemingway in Key West, etc.
Alfred Hitchcock – August 13 – The birth date of this long-popular director would make a fitting event to show a movie or two of his.
Winston Churchill – November 30 – Not only was this legendary British prime minister and hero of the Second World War one of the towering figures of the twentieth century, he was also a prodigious drinker and party wit. A stop at a British-themed pub for a pint or several with friends might be a fitting way to celebrate this historic personage’s birthday.
Frank Sinatra – December 12 – Ol’ Blue Eyes, with his extensive catalog of classic interpretations from the Great American Songbook, plus his image as the poster boy of post WWII cool, is a great excuse to indulge in the cocktail culture. Martinis and Sinatra’s favorite libation, Jack Daniel’s, would help fuel the fun. His 100th birthday is 2015, too.
An Iconic Woman – Though the lives of men seem to lead more naturally to events that encourage drinking, you might want to honor an iconic woman with a fete that might be nicer and more involved than the ones involving almost solely alcohol that honor the men listed above. Some women and their birthdates:
Elvis – January 8 – Celebration of the music King of Rock and Roll can make for an inviting party. His music, maybe some of his food such as fried chicken, and peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Piña Coladas, but probably not Quaaludes. It is also a good excuse for at least one person to dress as Elvis.
Al Capone – January 17 – In case you have forgotten, Al Capone was a Neapolitan-American businessman who brought libations and entertainment to tens of thousands of Chicagoans during the 1920s and 1930s. A couple of his truisms were, “Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class,” and, “You can get more with a nice word and a gun than you can with a nice word.” His birthday can be an excuse for a gangster-themed costume party, a speakeasy-themed event, having a group over for braciole cooked in the Sunday gravy, or even one where you break out that bathtub gin recipe.
Federico Fellini – January 20 – The legendary Italian film director provided an array of fantastic surreal images in his films, especially in the ones after the famous La Dolce Vita, which itself can provide inspiration for a decadent celebration. Although finding a look-a-like for a young Anita Ekberg and having paparazzi(o) might take some effort.
Robert Burns – January 25 – The national poet of Scotland. His birthday is good reason to drink scotch whisky with a group; in excess, if need be. The Scots do it.
Rick James – February 1 – The “Super Freak,” one of greatest icons of the early 1980s excess, crept back into the national conscious with the help of several very funny skits on the Dave Chapelle Show, furthered by his untimely, drug-related death in 2004. A Rick James party would feature his rock-inflected funk music, of course, and possibly several of the illicit pleasures he used to enjoy on a very regular basis. Please respect the laws of your area, though.
James Joyce – February 2 – The fiction of this famous Irish author is characterized by experiments with symbolism, the use of stream of consciousness for large portions of the narrative, and that he stretched the English language to its limits (and beyond). If not on his birthday, Bloomsday, June 16, is possibly even a better day for celebration. This is the day that Joyce’s novel Ulysses is set, and a cause for celebration for Joyce fanatics worldwide. Bloomsday takes its name from the protagonist, Leopold Bloom, whose odyssey during the single day of June 16, 1904 through the streets, pubs and brothels of Dublin is the story. Don’t worry if you or most your guests have not read it, as hardly anyone has. It’s very difficult. That Joyce was Irish, Irish stout and plenty of Irish whiskey would be requisite for any event.
Saint Amaund – February 6 – The Roman Catholic Church has numerous saints who serve as patrons to various alcohol-related activities. A happy hour is more than appropriate on February 6, the feast day of Saint Amaund. He is the patron saint of brewers, barkeepers, bar staff, wine makers, vintners, and vine growers. If that is not reason enough, he is also the patron saint of the Boy Scouts. Really.
Ernest Hemingway – July 21 – One of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century was also a romantic figure and legendary boozer. No other book regularly assigned to high school students features anywhere near the amount of alcohol consumed as by the characters in The Sun Also Rises. Various themes could be Hemingway in Spain, Hemingway in Cuba, Hemingway in Key West, etc.
Alfred Hitchcock – August 13 – The birth date of this long-popular director would make a fitting event to show a movie or two of his.
Winston Churchill – November 30 – Not only was this legendary British prime minister and hero of the Second World War one of the towering figures of the twentieth century, he was also a prodigious drinker and party wit. A stop at a British-themed pub for a pint or several with friends might be a fitting way to celebrate this historic personage’s birthday.
Frank Sinatra – December 12 – Ol’ Blue Eyes, with his extensive catalog of classic interpretations from the Great American Songbook, plus his image as the poster boy of post WWII cool, is a great excuse to indulge in the cocktail culture. Martinis and Sinatra’s favorite libation, Jack Daniel’s, would help fuel the fun. His 100th birthday is 2015, too.
An Iconic Woman – Though the lives of men seem to lead more naturally to events that encourage drinking, you might want to honor an iconic woman with a fete that might be nicer and more involved than the ones involving almost solely alcohol that honor the men listed above. Some women and their birthdates:
- Janis Joplin – January 19
- Billie Holiday – April 7
- Audrey Hepburn – May 4
- Marilyn Monroe – June 1
- Julia Child – August 15
- Mae West – August 17
- Dorothy Parker – August 22
- Edith Piaf – December 19
