Holiday Hosting Guide: Cocktails & Cicchetti

From the welcome toast to the end-of-party bites, a holiday party runs on good drinks and easy food. Start with cocktails and cicchetti and the rest of the evening takes care of itself.

Cicchetti are small plates often enjoyed with sparkling drinks as a pre-dinner aperitivo — a well-loved ritual in Venezia. As Italians say, "L'appetito vien mangiando": your appetite comes by eating. Friends and family meet in their local piazza for drinks and bites before moving on to the main meal.

Build your drink selection

For a large crowd, a staple mixer and a few types of liquor are key. Keep it classic with Fever Tree premium tonic water, made from naturally sourced ingredients from around the world, with no artificial flavorings or sweeteners.

A good host plans for every guest, so for those who don't drink, add a bottle of Seedlip non-alcoholic spirits. Cocktail hour is for everyone.

Finish the station with a garnish. Local, seasonal produce from the Eataly marketplace does the job.

For something extra special, reach for Fabbri fruit in syrup. Preserved in syrup and packed in a glass jar, the all-natural syrups come in flavors from Amarena cherry to strawberry and ginger. Use them to give classic cocktails a twist.

Serve cicchetti first

Nothing pairs better with cocktails than cicchetti — small snacks typically served at a Venetian aperitivo hour. Think Italian tapas. Whether the party is a simple cocktail hour or a full-course feast, put them out alongside the drinks. Sharing cicchetti and drinks before dinner is a centuries-old tradition that is still very much alive at Eataly.

They are simple, with no cooking involved, and you can pick up everything in one trip to the store. Start with salty, bite-size snacks:

• Taggiasca olives
• Fennel tarallini crackers

Add more as you like. Plenty in the Italian assortment will catch your eye.

The perfect kick-off

Take a cue from Fabbri: add Fabbri Amarena to a Manhattan or a Negroni for a twist on the classic.

Opening with cocktails and cicchetti lets guests mingle and catch up as soon as they arrive. By the time you seat everyone for dinner, the conversation and the laughs are already flowing.