Birthday drinks

Offering ten different drinks sounds hospitable, but it means you'll be mixing all evening. Choose two and make them in large batches: one fresh and light, one a little more robust, both prepared in advance in a pitcher or dispenser. That gives everyone something to choose from and means you only need to top up glasses. Place a third alcohol-free pitcher alongside them with the same base, so you won't have to do anything for that either. Make sure the two are different, though, because two sweet options feel like one choice: choose one with citrus and some bubbles and one with more body, and that covers the whole evening.

This is the step that makes the difference on the night itself. Mix everything non-carbonated a few hours in advance in a pitcher and chill it: juice, syrup, spirits, bitters. Taste the batch before it goes into the fridge, because cold drinks taste less sweet than they do at room temperature. Add bubbles, tonic or sparkling water only in the glass or just before serving, and pour it down the side. Keep ice in a separate bowl and add it to each glass, never to the pitcher. You can find a pitcher or carafe among the water pitchers and carafes.

Plan on two to three glasses per guest for an evening, plus at least one and a half glasses per guest in reserve because glasses get left behind, disappear or break. For twelve guests, eighteen to twenty-four glasses should be enough. They don't have to be twenty-four different glasses: a tumbler, a highball glass and a flute cover almost everything. For that reason, a set of eighteen pieces is cheaper and more practical than three separate sets. The sets can be found among the glassware sets.

A dispenser with a tap takes the pouring completely off your hands: guests serve themselves and you only need to refill it. Keep in mind that fruit and ice can clog the tap, so strain the batch and place the ice next to it. The models can be found among the drink dispensers. A pitcher or carafe works just as well and looks nicer on the table; the difference is that someone has to pick it up. In either case, add a card stating what it contains, so you don't have to explain it all evening.

One alcohol-free drink that is truly finished is worth more than three bottles of soft drink. Make a virgin mojito in a pitcher, or an alcohol-free gin and tonic with the same garnish as the real one. More can be found under mocktails. Serve it in the same glass as everyone else, because that is half the story: people who do not drink do not want to be identifiable by their glass. NIX18: under 18, no alcohol.

Children want the same as adults: something with colour, something fizzy and, above all, their own glass. A Shirley Temple made with lemonade and grenadine does the trick, and there are more options under children's cocktails. Use sturdy glasses that can withstand a knock and pour smaller portions, so less is left standing. A bowl of fruit wedges and straws alongside is enough; you can find the straws under straws.