In planning the menu for cocktail parties you have to take into account that everyone will be standing up. Of course, you may have lots of room with ample space for guests to sit, but very few do. Part of the fun of a cocktail party is the mingling. For a small informal party, you can serve any hors-d’oeuvre that can be eaten in the hand, including food on skewers or even food cooked during the party, such as fondue. Try to strike a balance between shapes and flavors, just as if you were planning a dinner menu. One dish on skewers or picks is enough; do not have everything stuffed or ground or mixed with olives or made with cheese.

For informal occasions, make soft pates or other meat spreads and serve them in mounds, sprinkled with a garnish and surrounded by bread rounds, Melba toast or crackers. In this case, crackers will serve well; guest spread their own just before eating them, and they have no chance to become soggy. Of course, these spreads will not look like much as your party goes on, but they can start out looking impressive. How about a beautiful mound of poultry pate sprinkled with green pistachios and ringed with very thin rounds of dark rye bread? Or ham pate sprinkled with a mixture of chopped onion, black olives, parsley and grated lemon rind, with alternate narrow strips of white and whole wheat bread? Either tastes delicious with any sort of drink and serves as an excellent splasher.

Canapés are good, of course, and so are the tiny bite sized tarts; bake the tarts in muffin pans of 1 inch diameter. There is no met pie that cannot be adapted to a one bite serving, but be sure to use a pastry that is dry to the touch. Cream cheese pastry is good.

Another favorite today is cocktail frankfurters served with bowls of sauce. They are also good rolled in pastry or biscuit dough and baked. Try this idea with any meat mixture; spread it on biscuit dough, roll it into a narrow roll and slice; bake the little slices until the biscuit is done. If you make your own bread, you can use yeast bread dough, risen once, for these roll ups.

Stuffed mushrooms are especially nice for cocktail parties, and other stuffed vegetables are good too. You could serve a selection of stuffed vegetables.

Miniature pizzas made with meat are good, too. You can make your own quarter sized English muffing, or buy pizza dough mix and cut into small rounds or squares. Tomato and cheese are not the only fillings; add diced salami or other meat, a spoonful of chopped plum tomatoes, a crisscross of anchovies. This could be your household specialty.

When it comes to large cocktail parties, skip everything on skewers; they can stab innocent victims, and it is hard to know what to do with the empty skewer once the food is eaten. Also skip the mounds of spreads because, with a mob it is difficult for everyone to reach them. Have everything ready to pick up and eat without more ado. Unless you have help in the kitchen, do not try to serve hot dishes. To keep cold dishes from drying out, cover them with plastic wrap until you serve them. If your tidbits are suited to it, brush a layer of aspic over the tops to keep them looking fresh and prevent drying.

By planning you food in advance, you party, large or small, will surely be a success and have everyone leaving with a full stomach and a smile on their face.