Love Potion #9

This party is just for the gals.

Was it fate or Love Potion #9 that brought them together? Get giddy with your best girlfriends at this giggle fest. Share great "girl" food and your gift of gab at our gal pal gala.

Recipes

• Toasted Cheese Pita Chips
  Spread a thin layer of purchased pesto on your chips or serve with a fruity salsa, if desired. Consider increasing this recipe to ensure that you will have enough for your guests.

Tomato-Lentil Soup Warm and inviting. Consider increasing this recipe to ensure that you will have enough for your guests.

Chicken Salad Puffs Spoon this creamy chicken combination onto baked puff pastry or into flaky croissants.

Mixed greens with purchased salad dressing

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Rich caramel pecan sauce drapes this apple-pie-flavored cheesecake.

Hot Scarlet Wine Punch Choose between the alcoholic or non-alcoholic versions or make 1 of each!

Invitation Ideas

• Draw, copy or download a visual of a perfume bottle and write Love Potion #9 on the bottle for an enticing invitation.
• Add a sprinkle of red heart shaped glitter in each envelope and let the love rain down on your invitees. Craft stores and Craftopia.com are places to look for glitter.

Decorating Tips

• Set your table in the color of love, with rousing red tablecloths, napkins and plates. For table linens, look in a housewares store or JCPenney.com or, if you prefer paper, try a party goods store or Paper Party Place.
• For a centerpiece, assemble an assortment of interesting shaped bottles filled with different colored liquids and tied with contrasting ribbons. Label one Love Potion #9. Look for unique bottles in antique shops and secondhand stores.
• Arrange your edibles on cake stands, for a heightened appreciation of your cuisine. Stands with lips are great for finger food and those without are perfect for platters. Cake stands can be found in housewares stores and Sur La Table.
• Red mums, carnations and poppies look splendid in glass vases. Look for red flowers at a florist and 1-800-Flowers.com.
• Chatting can make a girl thirsty. Fill a punchbowl with wine punch to keep the conversation flowing. Punchbowls can be found at housewares stores and Crate & Barrel.

Mood Makers

• Lieber and Stoller's "Love Potion #9" by the Searchers is a must. Record stores and Tower Records.com are places to find music by The Searchers.
• Wherever you can fit one, place a red candle. White candles in red glass votives would be lovely, too, as long as you fill the room with romantic flickering lights. Look for candles at candle stores and Wick's End.
• For a fragrant fete, place bowls of potpourri around the room for your guests' olfactory pleasure. Potpourri can be found in bath and beauty stores and Crabtree & Evelyn.
• Tiny bottles of perfume are the perfect party favors. Cosmetics stores and FragranceNet.com are places to find perfume.

Entertainment

• You can never look too good. Purchase a spa kit and give each other facials to look your best when you meet Mr. Right. Look in bath and body shops for spa kits.
• Put out trays of nail polish and "do" each other's nails or hire a manicurist. Look in your local salon for a manicurist and try a cosmetics store or Sephora.com for an array of nail polish.
• Copy quizzes from an assortment of women's magazines and compare answers. Bookstores and Barnes & Noble.com are places to find magazines.