First Things First

You need to decide how many guests you are inviting and the budget you'll be working to – then you can decide on your venue.

If you're holding your 'do' at home, will you need additional seating or tables? Will you need to hire a marquee? Alternatively, if you're hiring a venue it's worth finding out if you can take your own wines and pay a corkage fee.

Always remember to get the date in early, especially in the busier 'party seasons' during the summer and at Christmas. It's a good idea to send a 'save the date' email, text or card as soon as you've finalised the date – you can then follow this up with a more formal invitation if necessary. It's worth checking the date for any major clashes, as you may upset a few people if your party is the same day/night as a must-see sporting event!

Then choose your menu. Whether you're doing nibbles, posh canapés or a sit-down dinner, the drinks should always complement the food you're serving. Once you've chosen your menu, visit your local Majestic where the team can recommend a range of wines to suit your event.

Finally, give some thought to the size of your event and if necessary arrange for some help on/before the day. You can save time and effort by bringing in a caterer but make sure you shop around – alternatively if you're cooking at home consider ordering online as an easy, cost-effective way of avoiding a long trudge around the supermarket. Most of all remember to ask for help serving drinks or food on the day: there's no point having a party if you're too busy to speak to your guests!

Champagne or Sparkling Wine

If it's a special occasion, or you want to get your celebrations started with a swing, you can't beat a glass of fizz. At Majestic we're real sparkling specialists and always include a wide range of fantastic fizzes on amazing offers.

A standard sized bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine (75cl) will provide 6 flutes. For a wedding reception or toast you'll need 2-3 glasses per person. So for 100 guests you'll need at least 100 x 2 glasses = 200 flutes, or 34 bottles.

Consider using a big-name Champagne for toasts and a more cost-effective, great tasting sparkling wine for further drinking.

It's always difficult to know how much alcohol you'll need for an event, so it's worth remembering that Majestic offer a sale-or-return option – meaning you needn't be stuck with any excess.

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Wine

Whether you're doing drinks with the neighbours or running a large-scale fundraising event, getting the right quantity of the right wine is crucial. As a general rule, allow half a bottle per person then add a margin for safety.

A standard sized bottle of wine (75cl) will provide 6 small wine glasses (125ml). So one case of wine (12 bottles) will provide 72 glasses. So for 100 guests you'll need 100 x 3 glasses = 300 glasses, or 50 bottles.

Preferences for red and white wines are usually evenly split, but be aware of seasonal variations (warmer weather = more white than red, and vice versa) and don't forget about rosé!

It's often worth considering the corkage option when hiring a venue for a wedding or similar function – with Majestic's great range and prices you can often improve on the venue's house wines and save money. For example, if a house wine costs £16 a bottle but corkage would be £10 a bottle, you can spend up to £6 a bottle at Majestic – and almost certainly improve the quality of the wine you offer.

Make sure you are ordering the right wine by organising a tasting before you order. At Majestic we have an extensive range of wines open to taste on our tasting counters, and can often open specific bottles on request.

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Beer & Cider

At Majestic we have a wide range of lagers and ales available by the case.

Quantities depend largely on knowing your guests' likely preference for lager, ale or cider but as a rule it's best to over-order. Majestic will refund any unopened cases of beer or cider that you have left over.

A case of lager generally comprises either 12 or 24 x 33cl bottles (just over half a pint per bottle) although popular brands may come in 27.5cl.

Bottled ales, bitters and ciders usually come in packs of 12 x 50cl bottles (just under a pint a bottle) and at Majestic we take pride in our large and carefully chosen range of Great British beers.

Spirits

Serving spirits can be labour-intensive, but at Majestic we try and make things easy.

We stock a good range of mainline and speciality spirits from around the world, as well as quality mixers from Schweppes, Coca-Cola and Fever Tree.

We recommend you use a true shot measure, as 'home measures' can lead to you serving drinks much stronger than you intended!

We can also provide hi-ball (tall) glasses for serving spirits and mixers. (See page 11 for details.)

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Seasonal Drinks

Summer or winter, some things are de rigueur – like Pimm's in summer or mulled wine at Christmas.

Pimm's

A standard blend consists of a 1:3 Pimm's to lemonade ratio. A standard 70cl bottle of Pimm's provides around 15 servings and requires roughly 2 litres of lemonade in the mix.

Once you've added ice and fruit (mint, cucumber, strawberry and apple) the measure will fill a hi-ball glass (33cl) perfectly. So for 100 guests to have 2 glasses each, you'll need 13-14 bottles of Pimm's and 13-14 2 litre bottles of lemonade.

Mulled wine

Mulled wine can be made well ahead of time and kept warm on a stove top – just remember not to let it boil or you'll burn off the alcohol!

Any red wine will do and you don't have to spend much money – after all, you're going to change the taste considerably. Try a wine from Portugal or the South of France which is full in flavour with lots of rustic charm.

Making mulled wine couldn't be easier with Majestic's Gourmet Mulling Syrup. There's no need for additional fruit or spices – just mix 1 part syrup to 8 parts red wine and heat gently. So for 100 guests to have 2 glasses each, you'll need 30 bottles of wine and 4-5 bottles of Gourmet Mulling Syrup.

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Soft Drinks & Water

Soft drinks are often an afterthought but they can be extremely important.

You'll need soft drinks for mixers, as well as for drivers, non-drinkers and younger guests. Schweppes, Coca-Cola, sparkling water, lemonade, orange juice and tonic water are must-haves, but you could also consider a grown-up alternative like cranberry juice or sparkling elderflower.

A 2 litre bottle of soft drink will provide approximately 7-9 servings, and a 50cl bottle of tonic will adequately make 3 spirit-based mixer drinks. Remember to enjoy your party safely.

For all-day functions like weddings, you should allow at least half a litre of water per person.

It's a good idea to alternate soft drinks or water with each alcoholic drink. Over the course of an evening you and your guests can consume more than you realise.

It's important that your guests enjoy themselves and that they get home safely – keep some information about local taxi services to hand and always encourage your guests not to drink and drive.

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Free Glass Loan

You'll always get through more glasses than you expect! The Majestic Free Glass Loan service includes wine glasses, flutes, hi-ball tumblers and pint glasses.

All we ask for is a £1-a-glass deposit, payable in advance, and that the glasses are returned to us clean and ready for re-use. The deposit is fully refundable – all you pay for is breakages. And since you have paid a deposit, there's no time limit in which you have to return them.

Arranging glass loan with online orders

You can request glasses when you order online, by choosing the 'I would like free glass loan' option and entering how many multiples of 12 wine glasses, flutes or hi-ball tumblers you'd like. The £1 per glass deposit is added to your online order.

When you're done with the glasses, you'll need to take them to the Majestic store that delivered them (or that you collected from) - unfortunately we are not able to offer a collection service for glasses. If paying the deposit by debit or credit card you will need to bring the card with you when returning the glasses. All we ask is that the glasses are returned to us clean and ready to re-use - the good news is they are dishwasher-safe so there's no need to wash them all by hand! A deduction of £1 per glass will be made to cover any breakages or losses.

Glass loan is at your local store managers' discretion, is subject to availability, and only available to customers purchasing wines, spirits and beers in quantities proportionate to the number of glasses requested. Glass loan is only available in areas where we deliver direct from store, and not by courier.

Ice, Chiller Bins & Ice Buckets

It's important to plan how you're going to keep your drinks chilled. Majestic chiller bins hold 18-24 bottles of wine or Champagne or 2-3 cases (48-72 bottles) of lager when filled with ice and water. Filled with 3-4 bags of ice, drinks will be well chilled in 30-45 minutes and will be kept cold for several hours especially if kept in the shade. These are available on a £15-a-bin deposit basis, refunded in full on return.

Alternatively, for a more formal affair try our table-top ice buckets which are available to purchase or hire for £10 – these hold 4-5 bottles of Champagne, wine or water with 1 bag of ice.

Don't forget that we also sell bags of ice that we can deliver with the rest of your drinks.

Arranging ice and chiller bins with online orders

You can request chiller bins and order ice when you order online, by choosing the 'I would like chiller bins and/or ice' option and entering how many bins and how much ice you'd like. The £15 per bin deposit is added to your online order. Ice prices vary across the country, but the website calculates the most you'll ever need to pay - if the ice is cheaper locally, your local Majestic store will adjust accordingly before you are charged.

When you're done with the bins, you'll need to take them to the Majestic store that delivered them (or that you collected from) - unfortunately we are not able to offer a collection service for chiller bins. If paying the deposit by debit or credit card you will need to bring the card with you when returning the bins. All we ask is that the bins are returned to us clean and unbroken.

Chiller bin loan is at your local store managers' discretion, is subject to availability, and only available to customers purchasing wines, spirits and beers. Chiller bin loan is only available in areas where we deliver direct from store, and not by courier.

Free Delivery

Majestic offer FREE home delivery, 7 days a week, arranged at a convenient time. Deliveries are fulfilled by your local store (or by the store nearest your venue) so you're always dealing with the same store team you placed your order with.

If you're ordering for a large party it may be worth organising delivery a few days in advance to allow for late additions/changes to the guest list – but be aware that if you're ordering ice you'll need somewhere to store it until the big day.

Free delivery applies to orders of 12 bottles of wine anywhere in mainland UK. We're sorry that this excludes the Scottish Islands, Isles of Scilly, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. We are sorry that we do not deliver to the Channel Islands or destinations outside the UK.

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Sale-or-return

It's always difficult to know exactly how much to provide for a party or event and you certainly don't want to run out. Our staff will be happy to offer advice on quantities but to put your mind at ease we also provide a sale-or-return policy.

All we ask is that you arrange sale-or-return in advance when you are placing your order and that everything comes back in a saleable condition – we cannot refund bottles with labels peeled off by chilling, or beer in opened or incomplete cases.

We do not collect leftovers or hire glasses so you will be responsible for returning them to your local store.

Sale-or-return is at your local store managers' discretion, and enquiries about sale-or-return on very large orders should be made to your local store.

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