Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Agreeing to host a party or casual function is all it takes to get some people busting out in hives. It’s like they’re allergic to the very idea of throwing a party.

All they envision is hard work, plastic smiles and incessant small talk. But it doesn’t have to be that way! (Well, not completely. I don’t know if we can help with the incessant small talk. That’s likely inescapable.)

However, there are easy entertaining ideas out there; you just have to know where to look. So put down that phone…you don’t need allergy shots. You need these ideas!

Right here for instance…

Theme decor

Pick a theme, make a party

Easy entertaining can be just that with the right party theme. But it can be exhausting running from store to store, trying to find all the details to bring your theme to life.

Here’s a tip to make it super simple. Head for a bridal website and check out their themes. You can find everything from table decor (like these adorable coral place card holders) to favors, candles, ceiling decorations and more all in one place. Who cares if you’re throwing a cocktail party and not a wedding? A theme is a theme…and having everything you need in one place is priceless.

Guests bring the entertainment

Instant fun

Everyone loves hanging by the pool, so make it even easier on yourself by requiring payment for entry. In addition to bringing their own suit and beach towel, guests must bring a pool toy and food to meet their cover charge. Have each guest bring an entrée or side dish to toss on the picnic table, alongside the 46 versions of the best potato salad ever made. How easy is that?

Go for fondue

Let your guests do the cooking

One cause of the consternation some feel when preparing to entertain is the food. What to serve, how to serve it and will I be in the kitchen all blasted night while everyone else is having fun? The answer, as it has been and always will be, is fondue. A few ingredients, a big fondue pot and suddenly everyone is in on the act.

Look for fondue pots that will do everything except wash your car. They will handle meat, seafood, chocolate and whatever else you want to cook and be done with. Now go mingle, you are the hostess remember.

Outdoor seafood feast

From the ocean to your table

It doesn’t matter if you live 10 miles from the coast, or 1,000 miles from the nearest bit of salt spray. Throwing a calm bake, lobster boil or crab buckets party is a fun and easy entertainining choice.

Set up the lawn chairs, light the firepit, and let your guests dig in to the delicious seafood you ordered from Lobster Anywhere. You provide the corn on the cob, a big pot of boiled potatoes and lots of melted butter. They’ll send live lobsters, steamers, scallops and more, fresh from New England waters. Cook them up, and let the party begin!

Chocolates!

Tasting, feasting, indulging!

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Okay, I have met a few people who say they don’t like chocolate, but we’ll ignore them for now. For the rest of us with good taste, chcocolate is just this side of nirvana (the place, not the group.) So setting up a chocolate tasting (or feasting!) bar is a simple way to turn a plain old party into an event everyone will remember.

Set up your chocolate bar with different kinds of candies from a trusted shop like the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They make it even easier, with their party packs. Just order, unpack and party!