THERE’S AN INHERENT contradiction in the phrase “planning a party.” Planning implies maturity, organization, common sense. Virtues all. But we know that the best parties—the real benders, the ones that leave us with bones that ache from dancing, skulls that throb from drinking, and morning-after vapor trails of Dionysian catharsis—tend to happen on the fly and off the cuff. When you’re in the mood to throw a holiday bash, the universe is telling you to do so right now, tonight, go. There is, however, an art to the immediate and impromptu, as some of America’s hospitality specialists will tell you. “The philosophy I believe in strongly is keep it simple,” says John Winterman, managing partner at James Beard winner Bâtard, in Manhattan. “Last minute soirees tend to suffer when you…
