Courtney McBroom is a Party Animal and Know-It-All hybrid. She’s also a chef, a culinary producer, and the author of the cookbooks Idiot Sandwich, Divine Your Dinner, All About Cake, Momofuku Milk Bar, and Milk Bar Life. She is the founder of Ruined Table, a publishing and event series about dinner parties, and was the head food consultant for Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+. She has been a guest on shows such as Chef’s Table, Mind of a Chef, Vice Munchies, and Bong Appétit, and her writing and recipes have been featured in Food & Wine, Vice, GQ, InStyle, Thrillist, Stylist, and Lucky Peach magazine.

Descending from a long line of elaborate theme party enthusiasts, Brie Larson (a Host with the Most, with a Nostalgic One rising sign) can usually be found at Disneyland, her personal “Happiest Place on Earth.” She is also known for winning an Academy Award for her lead performance in Room. Larson most recently costarred as “Margarita Rocks” in an at-home murder-mystery party production, opposite family and friends. Professionally speaking, she also starred on stage in the West End production of Elektra and executive produced and led the Apple TV+ series Lessons in Chemistry, which earned her Emmy, SAG, Critics’ Choice, and Golden Globe Award nominations.

She is best known for her role as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel in the Marvel superhero film franchise. Other big screen credits include Fast X, The Glass Castle, Kong: Skull Island, Short Term 12, Trainwreck, The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. She is also known for United States of Tara. She was named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people.

Courtney and Brie's Party Hacks

Help Them Help You

There’s no need to do everything yourself. You almost certainly have friends who love to pitch in (aka Helpers), so let them! Don’t be a hero - let Gerald pick up a bag of ice on the way, and if Francine loves to wash dishes, who are you to stop her? Better yet, and much to Francine’s chagrin, use compostable plates and cups and skip washing the dishes altogether.

Help You Help You

Not every party needs to be an over-the-top shindig. There’s a reason why we don’t have Thanksgiving every month, it’s just too much dang work. Ask yourself how much bandwidth you have - be honest! -  and meet yourself there. Any little thing can be a party. A cozy-themed night featuring takeout pizza with sweatpants as the dress code sounds amazing.

If you have the capability to go a little harder, be sure to prep as much as possible in advance. If you are new to this sort of thing, it helps to have direction on what foods can be made ahead versus which need to be made à la minute.Lucky for you, we offer that in our book. And if you are just too overwhelmed to host at home, support your local restaurant scene instead. When they ask how large your group is, remember that they call them parties for a reason. 

Create An Inviting Atmosphere.

Pick a fun theme or activity for everyone to unite over. Even something as simple as setting up a puzzle table works wonders. It gives people something to talk about or work on together, and makes it much easier to be a party guest, especially for those who may have some social anxiety. Also, please make sure the lighting is flattering and the music is loud enough to hear, but not so loud that you have to scream in conversation.

The Rules Are, There Are No Rules. Except These Rules.

It’s okay to give people boundaries, just make sure they are clear. If you are a shoes off household, that’s great. Throw a sign on the door so no one forgets. If you want all of your guests to be present, tell them to check their phones at the door. And when it’s time for everyone to leave, just say it. They are your friends and you are tired, they’ll understand.

Throw Perfection Out the Window.

Don’t be hard on yourself. So what if you accidentally switched the salt with the sugar in your Candy Cherry Ritz Cake. That’ll be a hilarious story to tell down the line. The most important thing you can do in this life, and especially right now, is invite your friends over for some good old fashioned IRL hangs, just like they did in the olden days. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Extra salty icing, but icing nonetheless.