Parties revive the spirit, add life to old friendships, and offer a chance to make new friends. When I was a little kid, there was a birthday party where the cake was a white, fluffy coconut rabbit with jelly beans - yellow, green, purple, pink - peeking from the green-dyed coconut grass. We stood around the table, and oohed and ahhed as the birthday girl blew out the little candles. Cool, huh?

As parents, we hosted many a party for our kids - friendly soccer game, spider pinata, treasure hunts. There were the impromptu parties too when the low water crossing was flooded, and kids in the neighborhood, freed by bad weather from the obligations of childhood, came by for sweet goodies and games. One morning, it snowed, and a couple of guys down the way came to wake up the sleepyheads in our house for a snowball battle. We fixed pancakes and bacon and turned it into a party of kids, faces flushed red with the fun in the cold.

We had parties with folks our own age too. Friends embraced certain dates for annual get togethers. One family celebrated April Fools each year, another, the 12th day of Christmas. Another had a Tamalade in December. We gave parties on an equinox, or a Christmas/Hanukkah celebration at winter solstice.

There's always a bit of risk in throwing a party - everyone under the sun may show up, or no one at all. As you heap barbecue on a platter, you may learn your friends have turned vegetarian in the months since you last saw them. You worry about keeping everyone happy. What kind of drinks to offer? What kind of music do you play when you've invited both classical afficionados and country western fans? But the truth is, most guests are so grateful to be invited to an event, they're not going to quibble about the details. At parties, a guest has the opportunity to try new foods, drinks, music, and to flirt with the safely marrieds. If the guest don't like the food and drink, the guest can always eat comfort food when the guest gets back home. With time, though, you do learn a little bit about the preferences of those who are dear to you, and sometimes are happy to coddle them. The main thing is a party is time set aside solely to enjoy life and friendship, and we do thrive on a little social happiness now and again.