Picking and Playing Music
To keep up the good vibe at your party, pick music that your guests will know and enjoy listening to. For a younger crowd, playing pop music is a good idea; for an older crowd, choosing some “oldies but goodies,” and for a mixture of adults and children, be sure to pick music that is appropriate for everyone’s ears. Also, if you have guests that are celebrating different holidays, try to steer clear of holiday specific music.

If you have an mp3 player or iPod, putting together a few playlists your best bet. You can choose the order of the songs and can make a list of hundreds of songs so you don’t have to spend time changing a CD. All you need is an outlet that you can plug your mp3 player into like speakers or an mp3 friendly radio. If you don’t have an mp3 player, then making a CD is a good plan. You can simply burn a few CDs, label them, and choose the appropriate CD for the occasion.

If you don’t have access to a CD burner or mp3 player then you can play music from your computer through a music playing site like Pandora. It’s free and all you do is log into the website, choose a song, genre, or artist to build your play list around and Pandora will create a play list for you. It’s like playing the radio without commercials and it only plays songs you like.

Next: Cocktail Party/New Year’s Eve Playlist

Cocktail Party/New Year’s Eve Playlist

1. I Gotta Feeling -- Black Eyed Peas

2. Celebration -- Kool and the Gang

3. Get The Party Started -- Pink

4. You Shook Me All Night Long -- AC/DC

5. Good Vibrations -- Beach Boys

6. Everybody Have Fun Tonight -- Wang Chung

7. We Got The Beat -- The Go-Go’s

8. After Midnight -- Eric Clapton

9. Dancing in the Dark -- Bruce Springsteen

10. 1999 -- Prince

Next: Holiday Gift Exchange Playlist

Holiday Gift Exchange Playlist

1. Baby, It’s Cold Outside -- Dean Martin

2. With a Little Help From My Friends -- The Beatles

3. A Hazy Shade of Winter -- Simon & Garfunkel

4. Winter Wonderland -- Jason Mraz

5. Snow -- Bing Crosby

6. Be Thankful -- Natalie Cole

7. Family Affair -- Sly & the Family Stone

8. All You Need is Love -- The Beatles

9. Jump (For my Love) -- The Pointer Sisters

10. Happy Together -- The Turtles

Next: Dinner Party Playlist

Dinner Party Playlist

1. Sweet Potato Pie -- James Taylor

2. Jive Turkey -- Ohio Players

3. Fly Me To The Moon -- Frank Sinatra

4. Sing for Your Supper -- The Mamas and the Papas

5. (Do The) Mashed Potato -- James Brown

6. Harvest Moon -- Neil Young

7. Heaven Sent -- Keyshia Cole

8. Swinging on a Star -- Bing Crosby

9. Haven’t Met You Yet -- Michael Buble

10. Just the Way You Are -- Harry Connick Jr.