I just had a party and found it helpful to have a runner down the hallway to the bathroom to cut down on extra traffic on the rug. Having a can of resolve is helpful too so that it doesn't look like your friends played soccer on your white couch :)

Idea 1 - White based theme. A friend who purchased her first house during the winter season used the snow as the theme for her big housewarming party - everything was white - wine, spritzers, white pasta sauces, etc. Obviously, those of us close to her knew she was dreading a red wine spill on her new white sofa but most casual friends didn't realize.

Idea 2 - Keep the party attendees to a minimum and make it a dinner party. That way, all wine and food consumption occurs at the dining room table.

I once served a bunch of "signature cocktails" at a party and learned the hard way that you should never ever ever serve all your drinks in martini glasses. It's nearly impossible to mingle with a martini in a packed house. One tiny bump and it sloshes over the edge of the glass.

dcaries - your "Idea 1" friend is a genius!

Make sure your napkins, particularly around Halloween, aren't black. Have you ever seen someone try to mop up a little spill on something in light-colored upholstery with a cheap black napkin? I have. Ugly!

Stop serving alcohol? Granted other things could also stain too though. I will never get the drinking in a social setting.

I try not to have white furniture - sure it is pretty sometimes, but it's a fad like anything else. Plus my blue couch doesn't show stains as well as my dear friend's white sofa that looks like it was attacked by a dirt storm.

Any tips for boots/shoes at a winter/spring/fall party? I ask because we don't wear our shoes in our house - yet, even when I place a few pairs on the foyer carpet as a hint to guests to take off their shoes, inevitably some guests still wear their shoes and sometimes, damp winter boots around the house during a party. Ideas?

I think spilling wine on that chair in the picture would be a Good Thing....

"I will never get the drinking in a social setting."

Do you just drink alone then?!

@ChrisGal, I personally don't get being drunk, but having a couple of drinks with friends is fun and relaxing. Unless you cannot drink because you or a loved one is recovering from an addiction, what I don't get is a staunchly prudish attitude toward having even a drink.

@smpin, while I understand that no shoes is your day-to-day norm, it can be quite awkward at a large gathering.

If a only handful of people are coming over, you need only nicely ask them as they come in. Everyone -- regardless of their inside footwear policy -- usually has a couple of shoes by the door, so this barely qualifies as a hint.

However, if you have 20 or more guests mingling, trust me, your guests resent your shoeless policy because it's uncomfortable for them. Socks are one thing, but many women in heels will end up barefoot in your wintry home. A guest who is standing barefoot on a cold floor that has become sticky with sloshed drinks is a guest who is going to wash their feet in your powder room sink and duck out early. Get IKEA's cheapest floor mats and dub them your party rugs, and get one of those door mats that have boot cleaning bristles on the sides.

Or, throw a pajama-themed party and have slippers on hand as a door prize!

Or you could just let people know ahead of time that you have a no shoe policy (if they don't know already) and make sure you provide slippers for guests (which is customary in some Asian cultures).

And a fancy pair of heels is one thing; a big, mud- and snow-covered pair of boots is another. I'd hope that most people would have the sense to realize that they probably shouldn't be walking around in another person's home wearing filthy footwear.

I had my birthday party in my new 1100 sqft duplex. me and my partner's previous apt was a 500 sq ft loft with a spiral staircase we shared with our two cats. Because of the lack of space, we could never really have parties, so this was our first real grown-up in-home party (we're young, and lived in dorms or dirty college-roommate houses before that tiny apt.)

I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I didn't realize how particular I am with my things. People messing with your stuff is kind of nerve racking... maybe just for me though. The thing that really did it, was someone putting their size 12 chunky boots on my mid-century coffee table! I thought I was going to lose it.

How do you deal with less than ideal manners like moving your things, playing your instruments, and putting shoes on your furniture?

I agree with the people who keep seltzer to hand, and i usually have a huge stack of kitchen towels ready and washed.

My tip is a philosophy tip, which is it's nice to have nice things, but it's not much fun to be afraid to let people visit, so I kind of think it's imporant to accept some risk with your things. Life is for living in, and it's possible things will be destroyed by the living. Someone got my kashmiri silk rug with a beer the first time it came out of protective custody, but I knew that was the risk I was going to run in owning a big beautiful rug. I had the selzter handy and we blotted it up and all was well.

Invite well behaved people? Have dinner parties instead of raging throwdowns? I tend not to invite more than 10 people to a party at my own house, because it's a small place and I do have nice things, and a cat, and so that way things stay manageable.

As for rude people, I like to kill with politeness. "oh I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you would need to stretch your feet out. Let me move my coffee table out of the way so you have more room to lounge, and bring you a folding chair. It's so old I'm afraid you'll hurt your foot on it- its more a decorative table than a footstool." That way you get all your subtle digs in, and still look super awesome to everyone else.

If someone is rifling through your things you can always say something like, "I'm so sorry to keep you off the trumpet, but I had a cold the last time I played, it and I just don't want you to get sick." Check Miss Manners books for more examples of awesome put-downs through politeness, she's the master.

I still can't do it. We had some house sitters ruin our coffee table even though we have coasters and trays everywhere. It is one of my biggest problems, the hostess in me and the proud homeowner can't seem to work together. My dinner parties are very small - 3 additional at most.

I get putting away a couple of particularly fragile or precious items, but if you're truly concerned about how your home will fare in a large party setting, don't have one! Have a small dinner party instead. The conversation will be better anyway!

People could be trained. I hate, HATE! shoes in the house. I don’t care how small or how big the party is, if there is snow outside or rain or even if you have magical powers and you floated to the party-- shoes are off!

Keep telling them nicely to take them off every time you see them with shoes on. After all they are your friends so they should understand you.

Sooner or later they will take them off without you saying anything and point out to other friends to do the same thing. Also they will see the Mount Everest made of shoes when they walk in the door.

If everyone takes their shoes off then you won’t have a swamp to start out with and I don’t care if socks on the coffee table. The floor is to cold… give them some slippers (make sure that you have slippers that look like http://www.zappos.com/product/7346200/color/113 or http://www.zappos.com/daniel-green-dormie-white and http://www.crazyforbargains.com/pobeslformew.html for people who like to have fun)

Oh and don’t be a hypocrite, when you are at their party take your shoes off (and a big benefit to you would be if they are there looking at you taking them off.)

As for your furniture. Cover it up or put it away. You love your carpet then roll it up and sick it away from people.

It could be done.. I’m in my 20’s (low) and most of my friends are around that age. Even with all the “laws” people are still having a good time and always come back.

Just don't serve red wine, tomato based sauces, etc. I make white mulled wine every year. Big hit.

If you don't allow shoes in your house you MUST warn people before they come- don't hit them with it at the door. They may have a hole in their stocking, be self conscious of their bare feet... even with slippers available, you are ruining a carefully planned outfit for some of them. I think it's ruder to care more for your floors than your guests, and I would much rather my home feel fun and hospitable, than making people tip-toe around. That said, I do understand the terror of an expensive stainable rug- or high heels digging into your soft fir floor. So find a way to warn them before they come so they can plan accordingly. Maybe something like "There will be comfy slippers waiting by the door, so make yourself at home :)"

To everyone, I don't drink. I have tried it a few times - never saw the point. I find non-alcoholic versions as good as the other. I don't care if people drink - I just don't think parties should mean alcohol is served. Can't people now have a good time without booze? I would hope or society is seriously going down the pits.

My biggest point I was making was it is against the law to drink and drive (if I'm not mistaken, two glasses of wine exceeds the alcohol limit), so why serve it when your guests have to drive home? That is unless you have sleeping arrangements for every single person you invited or they all live within walking distance.

lauraliciousuva -- You do have to remember in this day and age not everyone owns a single family home. Lots of people do tend to live in condos, duplexes, apartments, etc.

I know I have a shoes-off policy for my place because I live in the upstairs apartment and I have respect enough for the tenant below not to make hear the sound of chunky shoes or heels over her head all night. Now I do agree - let guests know beforehand. Then they can bring their own slippers or at least soft soled shoes.

My floors are not precious to me, but I'd prefer not to have street muck dragged in. I was raised to treat shoes in the house as a filthy habit and that's how I think of it.

In terms of etiquette, well, guests and hosts have to accommodate each other. Good guests do not saunter into another person's home believing they can do whatever they want just because they're guests. And good hosts know that they have to break some of their own rules in order to make guests comfortable and happy. If you're a considerate person, then you'll do the right thing automatically. If you're not, well, you won't get an invite back or have a lot of people take you up on your invitations.

Chrisgal - A lot of people live in cities and don't use a car to get around. Also, I don't think two glasses of wine over a few hours (especially with food) will prevent people from being able to drive safely. But I only speak for myself, every person's tolerance is different.

@ChrisGal: You said you don't care if alcohol is served or not. Then why do you complain on an internet message board about alcohol being served at parties, and why do you assume drinking indicates some moral failure of our society? You can't have it both ways!

If you have kids, your house is already party-proofed. Anything that could possibly be broken already has been.

I regularly serve red wine, tomato sauce, etc., at parties. People can put their feet on my coffee table. My sofas are stain-guarded.

It's funny how living with imperfection can make life more fun.

skippyandebsy -- I said I don't care if people drink. I meant when they are at home, in their own home. As in if this couple wants some wine with their dinner, so be it. I just don't find it trendy or even cool to drink in public or in a huge group where you will feel pressured to drink more than you should.

Just for you, I found you some links about the alcohol limit - and since this post was about wine, I tried to concentrate on that. Keep in mind most of these are about if you actually measured the proper serving into a glass - and it's doubtful if you kept it at 4-5 ounces per glass:

http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/amount-of-drinks-it-takes-to-get-over-the-legal-limit.html

http://www.self-help.co.nz/Articles/Health and Wellbeing Articles/How much wine is OK.html

http://www.georgecreal.com/general/there-is-no-safe-limit-to-stay-out-of-jail-if-you-must-just-drin.html

a party isnt a party without the booze! even my 80 some year old grandma knows to get some wine and beer before she has people over! as far as party proofing goes, i never worry about it. the worst that ever happens is a few broken wine glasses and some spills. i suppose if i had white carpet or something i might be a bit more concerned, but i dont own anything that cant take a little wear and tear. and also, i cant imagine asking guests to take off their shoes at a party!