How to Have an Upcake Party

Friday's Upcake party was a huge success. Want to have one, too? Here's how.

1. Go to www.dixiepicnic.com and sign up for their email list. Not only will you stay up to date on Dixie Picnic goings on, but you'll get a coupon or two (I got 20% off my order).
2. Send an evite, and don't believe it. Up until three days before the party, my evite suggested that I'd only have a handful of people here. Three times that number showed up. Upcakes are powerful things. Make sure the evite is clear as to what you're serving -- this gave folks ideas of what to bring, namely alcohol and salty snacks for those not sweet inclined.
3. Make your selection, and vary it. I bought one special Valentine's Day package, and then designed two more dozen. Try to get two of each. You'll see why.
4. Prep for the party. For drinks, I bought champagne, milk, water and Tomasello's Cape May red table wine. If people ask what to bring, suggest dessert wines, or salt snacks (a few people ate a little bit of both).
5. Have the party. What else is there left to do? I highly recommend having a full supply of plates, forks and knives ready. Since a lot of guests wanted to try a few varieties of Upcakes, they halved and quartered them. What a great idea! Also, leave out descriptions of what you've ordered -- a list comes in the box.
6. Give away the extras. Or else you'll freeze them and be tempted by them all weekend. As I was. Good thing I have a long week of running ahead!