With winter approaching all we can think about is a belly warming bowl of soup and spicy fried chicken pieces to warm us up. Last winter I learnt how to host a soup party , hosted such parties and  spent some happy moments with my friends. You too can try hosting a soup party and have fun with your family and friends. A soup party needs little bit of different preparations as the main focus of such parties is soup and everything is done keeping in mind this theme of the party. Here are some great tips on hosting soup parties for your friends.

Invite: Plan a day for your soup party and send out invitations to all your friends – especially those who are great cooks (if you wish to host a potluck party). You can ask them to bring in their favorite soup if possible – if for some reason they are not able to bring, they can bring in a bottle of wine or a lovely crusty bread at least.

Pre party preparation – Once you have sent out invitations, it is time to prepare for your party. Draw a list of all soups you would like to prepare and make a budget for the specific ingredients. Do not forget to include crunchy bread and ginger bread in your menu. You have to arrange to bowls and spoons for your party – you can buy these sets or you can ask your friends to bring along with them. You have to get small bowls and spoons for this party – plates are not necessary to have in abundance. Plan out the décor and arrange for comfortable seating spaces where guests can have their soups.

Now…the most important task of deciding the soup party menu.

Appetizers: Any soup party will be incomplete until you serve some great appetizers with them. So, here are some sumptuous appetizer ideas for your soup party.
• Sesame chicken wings: You will love the taste of butter and ginger coated sesame mixed chicken wingers which are spicy and crunchy. These can be had with any hot spicy soup.
• Spicy stuffed mushrooms – You will love the taste of large mushrooms with bell pepper, chopped onions, bread crumbs and also parmesan cheese. You can have this with a creamy soup.
• Barbecue meatballs – Your soup party will be incomplete until you serve these hot and spicy meatballs. These are made of ground beef, minced onions, salt, barbecue sauce, tomato paste among several other ingredients to give it a hot and spicy taste.

You need to include some great soups in your party – include as many varieties of soup as you want. Here are some great ideas for your soup party.

• Onion soup – It is wonderfully made with sliced onions, mozzarella cheese, canola oil and most important chicken as well as beef broth.
• Egg drop soup – Beaten eggs with ginger and garlic shredded pieces are used in making this soup. It works excellent for treating flue and cold.
• Thai spicy soup – Chicken stock, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, shrimps, coriander, chilies, minced garlic and fresh coriander is used in the making of this soup.
• Chicken noodle soup – This is made from chicken broth, chicken pieces, seasoned salt, chopped onions, noodles, carrots and celery. All the ingredients are cooked in the crock-pot except for noodles.

Image credits: stevosoups.wordpress.com, wizardrecipes.com