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"  Katie Lee threw a massive Grease-themed bash for the 4th of July, and sure that was practically years ago (in internet time), but we had questions about just how one throws the perfect party, and Katie was full of answers. Here, her top five how-to-throw-the-best-party-ever tips. 1. Make sure you&amp;#039;ve used your oven at least once before deciding to cook for friends.&amp;quot;I had a Thanksgiving dinner once that was a big disaster. I&amp;#039;d just moved into a new house and invited 15 people over for dinner and I&amp;#039;d never used the oven because I&amp;#039;d only lived there for a week, and it wasn&amp;#039;t properly calibrated. The breast was totally dry and the legs were bloody! I burned myself and had to sit through dinner with a bag of frozen peas on my arm. It&amp;#039;s so important not to bite off more than you can chew. You need to have fun at your own party because the hostess sets the tone and if I&amp;#039;m running around stressed than everyone will be stressed and feel it. It was still fun though!&amp;quot;  2. Wear something comfortable, and not white. &amp;quot;I decide what to wear by the type of party I&amp;#039;m having. A casual BBQ calls for a a summer dress, but I&amp;#039;ll dress up for a sit down dinner. Either way, as a hostess I know I&amp;#039;ll be more hands on so I always make sure I don&amp;#039;t have on bell sleeves or anything white in case something splashes on me. And no jewelry that&amp;#039;ll fall into the food!&amp;quot;  Her go to designers include Tomas Maier, Ossie Clark or something vintage from Decades or New York Vintage. For shoes, Christian Louboutin wedges or Lanvin flats. 3. Choose food that can be prepared in advance.&amp;quot;I cook pretty much everything beforehand and then assemble everything right beforehand. I like to make foods that can be done well in advance and the great thing about summer is that you can serve things that aren&amp;#039;t hot like a cold cucumber soup. I always write my menu out ahead of time so I can check things off the list as I go.&amp;quot; 4. Don&amp;#039;t underestimate the importance of a theme.A couple of weeks ago, Katie hosted the Cinema Society&amp;#039;s summer screening of Grease, so the 50s theme tied everything together. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s important to have a central theme \u2014 you want to put thought into it and make sure everything goes together. We decorated with polka dot blankets on the lawn and served things like burgers and mac &amp;amp;amp; cheese and rootbeer floats.&amp;quot; 5. Only do it if you love it.&amp;quot;I acutally prefer throwing a party, don&amp;#039;t get me wrong, I do love going, but I love having people in my home. You can feel the energy even after they&amp;#039;ve left!&amp;quot;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/news/a4349/katie-lees-party-tips-why-theme-parties-rule-415/?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ELM&link=-SMT-ELM>