Planning Your Party

HAVING A PARTY?

Why have a party? In cities, we sometimes have to have a party. In Aspen, it is mostly because we want to. Aspen is a very social town. People seem to be in a good mood when they are here. The town is always full of interesting people (That’s part of why Aspen works.) So let’s have a party! Doing it at the Caribou means you will enjoy it more, although we are happy to cater at home.

HOW TO DO IT

The great list. The kind of party that remains everyone’s favorite is the great dinner party with interesting people. 45 minutes of drinks with not too many canapés. Superb food, well selected wines, “silent” service. Alice Longworth used to like to put enemies together. Forget that. Put one old friend on one side and an about-to-be friend on the other. Tell your friends about people they haven’t met and why they will get on. Mix up the people who see each other every night. Find some new faces.

It is better for a table to be a little too small than too big. It’s livelier. If you have a table for ten, and four drop out, call the Club so the table will be the perfect size.

For a cocktail party, it is more fun to have the room a little too tight than too roomy. It facilitates chance meetings and introductions. You seem more popular.

Size of tables. If you have 12 people or less, use one table. 14 or less, in your own private room. Otherwise, split up into tables of six or eight. That way everyone at the table can join in the conversation. If the table is too large you end up speaking to only your neighbors and that can be limiting.

What sort of place? Do you want intimate? Perhaps a private room? Do you want to socialize with others and run into friends? Do you want it loud and raucous with dancing in the aisles? The Caribou is all of these, depending on the date, time and room. Your party can be as decorous or lively as you want. You can also change atmospheres as the night progresses.

Dress code? Not really. Women in Aspen tend to dress up more than men. Couples often look like they are going to different parties. The Club House is a safe place to wear a sexy dress or be comfortable. Men favor smart sports jackets and jeans.

If you bring your firm in for a party, name tags are verboten. You probably wouldn’t want people wearing them anyway. The Princess Minnehaha look awaits a comeback. Ditto ten-gallon hats.

THE MENU

We will give you a huge list of hors d’oeuvres, starters, entrees and desserts to choose from. If you want a theme party, we will do some research and propose a unique menu. Please give us your fantasies not your recipes. But — if you insist — fine.

Parties that you don’t have to plan:

New Year’s Eve — The Classic
Valentine’s Day
Food & Wine Weekend in June
4th of July
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day

On each of these occasions the Caribou has a beautiful dinner catered for each particular holiday. When appropriate, like Thanksgiving, we can plan for including your children.

BIG IDEAS FOR PARTIES

1) Sponsor the Dinner for the Art Museum after the Fendi Christmas event. Make a glamorous evening in the Baldwin Gallery with tons of flowers. Smaller: sponsor a lecture at the Museum and have a small dinner for the lecturer in the Hunt Room.

2) Be a patron of Aspen Ballet and invite all the dancers for dinner.

3) Do an Aspen Oscar Night party for the Aspen Film Festival with prizes.

4) Underwrite an Opera for the MAA. Dress up your guests à la Traviata. Eat caviar. Drink champagne. Waltz.

5) Bring all the teenage racers from the Aspen Ski Club to a dance night. Announce your sponsorship.

6) Call for ideas. We have lots.

SOME IDEAS ...

PICK A ROOM AT THE CARIBOU CLUB

6–10 guests: The Wine Room is perfect. Sit amid the 500 bottles of famous Chateaus and great years going back to 1812.

10–20 guests: The Pow Wow Room is crowned by the great Indian mural “The Last Second of Custer’s Life.” It is western and atmospheric.

24–30 guests: The Cub Room is the newest room and has been redone by Peter Hans Kunz. It is like a 19th-century salon. Comfortable, with prints of the West, the Cub overlooks the flower-festooned Caribou alley through lace-curtained windows.

10–30 guests: The Hunt Room

10-20 guests: Pow Wow Room.

90–130 guests: Main Dining Room

130–140 guests: Dining Room & Dance Floor

Up to 250 guests: All of it!

DANCING

Whether your party is a tête-à-tête or a group of pals, the Caribou always has the best DJ in town. There is something wonderful about ending a sybaritic night with a little dancing. It is the way to celebrate the end of a glorious evening.