I wish I had time for a February party - my February evenings and weekends are bizarrely packed already. I have a January cocktail party already planned, does that count?

With my birthday on the 3rd of Feb and my SO's on the 6th, a joint celebration on the 2nd seems pretty perfect for this!

Celebrations don't have to be "long and drawn out" they can be a simple as sharing breakfast, lunch or a cup of tea with some friends.

I'm planning a make-your-own-polenta brunch with pitchers upon pitchers of Bloody Marys. In my experience, no one is ever upset to have an excuse for brunch.

I'm feeling happily ahead of the game: I was so pleased with the work I did in my entrance hall Tuesday night that I sat down yesterday and made my invite list for my February 3rd buffet dinner! My place is small, and I've always felt I couldn't really entertain there. I used to have large apartments and threw parties a few times a year, but stopped when I down-sized. But Tuesday night I had the (head-smack) realization that a "party" doesn't have to be 20+ people. I can easily host half a dozen friends ... and have a much easier time preparing for and cleaning up after that event.

I'm excited to make my invitations and get them sent! This could be the start of a whole new hostess-with-the-mostest phase for me!

Yay! I have an early February birthday too! Time to invite people over.

We like to have a little wine and chocolate party most February's. We say- guys bring a wine, ladies bring a chocolate. Doing it potluck style is so fun! This may have to be my Cure party . :)

@eeks - what an awesome idea!

There's no way I'm doing this. I have people over every single week-end of January, so the first week-end of February will be devoted to family and personal time. To keep the spirit of the assignement, if not the letter, I decided to organize a family breakfast party. I will devote ten minutes to making my own Photoshop invitation and send it to my husband via email; I don't think my toddler and my baby will need any. Here goes.

I would like to invite you to a
Family Breakfast Party

Saturday, February 2, 2013
As soon as everyone is up

With fresh fruits, homemade croissants, yoghurt and marmalade,
My best morning tea with lemon,
Hot cocoa for those who love it.
Laughs and kisses will be given away for free.

I realize how bizarre "Laughs and kisses will be given away for free" sound in English. It was so better in my head in French... (rires et bisous à volonté). Well, need to improve my English.

This is a great idea. I generally have a gathering around this time of the year anyways since it coincides with Vietnamese New Years (February 10th this year). It is a welcome break to the winter doldrums for my friends and the Tet allows for a nice celebratory theme for the event.

I totally get what you were going for. Maybe "Laughs and kisses included" would work better in English?

This is perfect! I am in NOLA: home of Superbowl 2013, which takes place on the 3rd. I will offer a respite from the craziness that will be downtown New Orleans. I love Superbowl parties (for the food more than anything) but haven't been to one in years, so this is exciting!

Oops - I'll be away the first 10 days of February. I'll have to see what I can do a bit later. Maybe some kind of neighborhood-midwinter-cabin-fever-abatement thing.

No, it's very sweet!

First date available was the 17th, not exactly the beginning of the month but evites have been sent!!!!

Since I'm in grad school (and working), I have a feeling that in order to be ready to have people over, I'll need to do the Cure 2x, once in January and again in February. But I think I might finally get my act together and host an Oscars party w/ cocktails and appetizers!

Haha... I'm due to have our first child on Feb. 3. So I'm calling the get-together "Me and my husband celebrating in front of the TV."

I'll be inviting my sister and her new puppy over! I think I'll use a paper invite. I talk to her every day, but something in the mail will surprise her! :)

I just moved in to a new place, and two friends just got a place pretty much across the street, so we're planning a double moving-in party with dinner at their place and cocktails/dancing at mine. First weekend of Feb is already fully booked with parties in our circle of friends, but the next one after that has to be it! Whoop whoop!

Just remember Feb 3rd is SuperBowl, some of our partners are not exactlly expecting a formal dinner or cocktail that day :-)

I am a step ahead. I have good friends that have been in America for about 30 years and on Saturday, will be returning to England. After putting their house on the market, they came to stay with us a few days. I decided to have an impromptu dinner gathering and asked them to invite some of their friends for dinner. 12 people, lots of great food, wine and fun, fireplace. All was planned quickly and efficiently. But - we would not have been as comfortable doing this unless we followed and did the Apartment Therapy Cure for January! (And the flowers we bought are still doing well!!!)

We'll be hosting an informal superbowl party. Since it's also my husband's birthday, I'll make a big cake. I think I'll make sausage & steak chili, order hot wings (from the new wings place in town) and make nachos. Maybe hot pretzels, too. And have lots of beer :) Our living room only seats 6 comfortably, but the kids will probably be playing in another room while us adults squeeze into the living room in front of the tv.

I have to say that I am loving this Cure even more than I thought I would. I just got back from Ikea to get the cabinets I needed to work on our kitchen nook (that we've been waiting 4 years to finish) & I am thrilled I was able to get all the parts into the house by myself. That 80 lb counter top was not easy. But I'm also counting that as my workout for today, too. Bonus! And my husband is totally into the whole project. He knows I need a big motivator to get work done in the house. He loves AT, too. Though not as much as I do.

Thanks, AT!

this is exciting! thanks for all the ideas up top. i think hosting a weekend brunch is in order. plus, in the spirit of the cure, having a party early means i won't be too tired and worn out to clean everything up as soon as people leave.

@eeks I would love to get invited to this party ;)

I'm still rather new in town, and on the "wrong" side of the river for the few people I've sort of met. But I'll put out feelers and see who's brave enough to cross the mighty Mississippi to have high tea in my (hopefully) beautifully clear and welcoming living room

Again, fits perfectly with my annual Super Bowl party. Sent my invite last night and went to Michaels today to tackle the framing task. Loving the daily nudge.

Anne-Helene your post made me smile. I totally got the 'laughs and kisses will be given for free'...it's sweet and charming. I think I will have a get together brunch with my immediate family too. I have the recipe for the world's best scones so those will be included for sure!

Excited to host a ladies crafting evening featuring our newly organized and efficient craft room! I hope all the girls can fit it in to their busy schedules. Looking at evites tonight, plus I might do a little R&D about when people are free...

As I have a wedding to go to on the 2nd and a birthday lunch on the 3rd my get together will have to the following weekend. So I plan to host a proper English Sunday roast dinner. Normally having people round means a massive cleaning binge on the day so I end up being knackered when guests arrive. But following the Cure means my house is already really clean and will look even better by Feb!

I like it

I'm hosting three friends for Shabbat lunch - I always use the tiny size of my space as a reason not to host, but really I have (just) enough space to have a sit-down meal for four. The real reason was I'm not such a great housekeeper, but I'm getting Cured!

Boo hoo, I invited my closest friends and none of them could come! I suspect one of them is watching the Stuporbowl that day, hmmmm. Maybe I will just make brunch for my boyfriend instead. He doesn't notice if the house looks good though. :(

Unfortunately (or not), we will be in Paris, but I would love to have a French themed brunch once we are back. I think it would be fun to have some friends over and share stories about the trip with each other. Plus, it will give me an "excellent" excuse to hurry up and get any artwork we purchase there framed and hung as soon as possible! I will get some evites out this weekend. I am SO loving this January Cure!

@anne-Helene, love your invitation as is! So generous and loving. If you really want to adjust the translation, peut-être 'laughter and kisses given freely' or better yet 'laughter and kisses for the taking'.

My husband's away that weekend so I'm thinking about brunch with girlfriends. We'll see. I guess I have to decide soon.

Has anyone found an e-invite they like? I checked about pingg but I didn't find one I loved.

Already done! I host either a family dinner night (family drives in from up to 3 hours away) and we do a big potluck or a craft night or something similar pretty much monthly at my home. My birthday is the 3rd, so my lovely family has already planned out the dinner - I just need to clean the house.

I have found the secret to having a relatively clean house is to entertain a LOT!

My partners parents are coming at the end of Feb so that will be our get together

For the first time ever, my boyfriend is working away from home the whole month, he'll be back the last day of january. I think it will be a party on its own, but I'm planning a cute little dinner for the 1st, celebrating both the january cure and his return :)

I invited three friends whose homes I personally adore for a Sunday brunch. So excited, since I LOVE having people over, and definitely the biggest treat for going through and completing this Cure.

Exciting! We're actually hosting an alumni event here at the house in March, which was (in part) the impetus for starting the cure. Perhaps we'll do a test run next month!

I love this idea! It keeps you on track with cleaning. I don't think I'll be there by the time February rolls around though since I've been bed ridden since day 2 :( have fun with your get-togethers/parties everyone! (:

@PGF @SamanthaD Thank you for your suggestions ! It's been so many years since I've actually spoken English that I'm rusty and go for the words in French first, then translate. Sometimes it comes out weird, like it just did. I'll send the invitation in French anyway, so I'm pretty sure it'll mean what I want it to mean !

@Beacon Don't hesitate to share you recipe ! I love scones !!

I think the simplest is: "Free laughs and kisses."

And no worries about the English. It's been so many years since I've used French, that I probably would have translated it as "libre" rather "à volonté." Although now I have images of laughs and kisses roaming out in the wild...

I like @eeks idea. That's what I'm going to do on Oscars night.

darcitananda, can you not do something on saturday instead? or even have a brunch thing or midafternoon game or craft session instead? surely superbowl things don't bleed into saturday, too.

I always love the IDEA of entertaining with lots of friends, but as a complete introvert, the thought of people (beyond the boyfriend/roommate) being in my house where I CAN"T ESCAPE makes me dizzy.
However, we do have a long-standing 'dinner+game night' tradition with a couple of friends of ours, so I'm using that as my January Cure party. To make it a bit more special I will totally be making invitations (easy to do when there's only two that need to go out) and paying extra attention to planning the pre-game dinner.

The cure is going great for me - I finally did the weekend one of cleaning floors (hey - I HAD to get a new mop!) and I installed an under the kitchen sink pull out - which led to the rearrangement of 2 other cabinets...

I'm already hosting next week - big reason to clean the floors! I'd love to know what people serve guests - I have a small kitchen!

I am so super excited about this part, I really enjoy entertaining and will relish this, I have discussed it all with my husband and he unfortunately isn't excited or behind me on either the get together or the January cure although he will be living both the cure and the party because he lives here (and for no other reason) so... tough for him I guess... I am doing peruvian ceviches and non alcoholic cocktails....

I guess I'm more of a loner than a lot of ATers but I don't think I'll be throwing a get-together for friends next month. My bf and I dont have many close friends in the area (thank GOD for Skype) and our work aquaintences arn't close enough to invite over. I think instead I'll plan an extra special breakfast (triple bacon!) and set the table formally for me, the bf and our kitty. I do wish I had more friends in town, but friends don't make a home, family does. <3

No way will I plan to have people over . . . my life is nuts. At a moment's notice I may find myself taking someone to the E.R., dealing with a leak or frozen-up heat pump . . . but I'll consider it for next summer. In the meantime, I'll read the emails and do what I can. Thanks for this feature -- it helps.

Maybe I will do an afternoon tea with my sister and niece. I think we need a nice mid winter break.

My son's b-day (3rd) and there will be a party! He was born on a Superbowl Sunday in 2002!

I caught up! I'm especially excited for this one because it will feel great to have finished the January Cure (obviously) and I'd love to share the moment with my loved ones who are my biggest supporters

http://shoesoffplease.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/youre-all-invited/

I may be the only one who is NOT going to have a get-together. Why? Because my January cure is being applied to my dungeon - whoops, I mean basement and while I will get one project on my list finished by the 31st, there is no way and I mean NO WAY, my basement be available for any kind of viewing. It's embarrassing enough to have posted my before pictures on the blog that I'm writing for one year, but I don't want anyone to see the diminishing mess and think I haven't even started. Congratulations to you if your goal has been achieved, I have a long way to go.

Gah, I was ready to be all resistant to this assignment, but dangit, I guess I can at least ask this one friend over for a quiet evening. She has had me over to her house for parties and things several times, and I need to return her hospitality.

I'd already planned a birthday party for this weekend (my apartment had its annual "big clean" aka chuck-all-the-junk-in-the-spare-room prior to my Bad Santa movie night last month) but will think of something else to host in February. In 2013 I want to host a clothes swap party, a biscuit (cookie) swap and some crafternoons. I think any of these will be extra special with posted invites!

Your English, like your French, is perfect. That line is poetry in any language.

Arrgghh I am afraid that visiting my house in Feb when it is still mid cure could be like visiting a friend in hospital soon after an operation, when they are conscious but still drooling. Not so pretty.

This wouldn't work for me. I enjoy having dinner and house guests, but that is one reason my house is messy and disorganised - there are always people in it.

Planning to throw a small birthday party, about 15 people or so, with cocktails... Excited about the cure, following it from Belgium, and done a lot of things so far that have been lying around for months... sending back a speakerbox for repair, taking a whole bunch of clothes and other stuff to the thrift store already, bought flowers for the first time in a really long time... and the project to finish this month is painting the bedroom... It all seems more doable if you just split it up / write it down. Thanks for the help!

We have people over all the time, and one of my New Year's Resolutions was to take a break so we could get caught up financially and house-organization-wise! So instead of having a big party, I'm going to invite over a couple I know and like, and we'll eat dinner & watch the BBC show "Look Around You", which I know they would LOVE!

Made the list, will craft an invite this weekend.

I have been meaning to have a get together for so long! The living room sitting area problem has been solved. We had our sofa in front of the working fireplace that we have never used. Need to buy some logs this weekend.

I will have a designated spot for no-longer needed stuff to take away for the friends to rummage through on their way out.

We've decided to get off our asses and finally institute something we've talked about for years.
When I was a teenager, my uncle (I had only one) would make soup and if you were available, you were invited. Casual, social, and dinner all in one.
So-we're doing Souper Thursdays. First Thursday of every month, people are invited for soup! One vegan (me) and one non-vegan that my husband will make and I'll also bake fresh bread to go with.

Simple, something we can make in advance, and a weekday excuse to get together.

I think I am going to push back the date of the February party. I can't reallly start on my major project until after next Friday's paycheck and I would like to see where my son is going to high school (it may be a double point of celebration). People who live in Chicago will understand as the competition to get into the best public high school programs is just if not more intense than college. I am planning though. I picked out my picture to be framed and have been surfing the web for ideas for the space by my front door's dog landing pad.

In the spirit of the Cure, I'm inviting girlfriends over for a "stuff shuffle," exchanging lovely items we no longer want but someone else might. If anything is left over, we'll donate it to charity. Ladies love to shop, so this should be an enjoyable way to break the ice between different circles of friends. Now to make and send the invitations!

I had a birthday party in my apartment last night, which is coming along quite nicely with The Cure! I just moved in three months ago, so I had a lot more work than most people might, but it's in such a good state. I live in 800 sq. ft. and my living area is a modest size, though I had a comfortable party of 9 over! I guess the blessing is true here – "May your home always be too small to hold your friends."

Last night was such fun, I'm looking forward to hosting something else in February! Whoo!

I don't think it came out weird, at all, at all. Certainly nothing was lost in the translation. I had a charming mental image of your young family gathered around the breakfast table just enjoying each other. Oh, how I miss those days!

LOVE your idea, truenic! I think I might do a soup party too!

Since moving in with my husband a year and a half ago, I have been dying to throw a big soiree but the place has never been 'ready'. We've many projects always going and so this time, no excuses: we're having friends over. Collecting addresses/emails is amazingly hard so I haven't _sent_ mine yet but am aiming for second weekend of Feb. We'll be entertainers yet. :)

I'm going to be too busy with school to accomplish this one!

I was a little delayed figuring this one out, since we don't have enough dining room chairs to have a small dinner party and we are all still burnt out from our big Christmas party. But then I remembered that I'd talked about having a crafting day with some of my coworkers' girlfriends (I work in comics, there's very little "girl" time!). So I decided to plan a Valentines making party for the second weekend in February! Now I can't wait!

I won't get my sofa until the last weekend of February...and then I will be gone the following one. So, my get-together will likely be some time in early March -- more than a month later than intended -- but I am already looking forward to it. I'm going to gather some friends to sit and craft and listen to music and talk...yay!

If things are going well with other projects, I might just have the event anyway...and invite my friends to sit on the beautiful floor cushions I'll have whipped up, LOL!