The bash master tells all
When he stops to think about it, Billy Butchkavitz has been a party boy from way back. At 9, he took over the Christmas decorating at his family’s huge Pennsylvania farmhouse. As a teen he planned his own birthday bashes, complete with poolside decorations, torches, fruit baskets and fresh flowers on every table. In high school he worked summers in the banquet department of a resort hotel, where he learned “all the little things.”
You could say his whole life has been leading up to a career as a professional party planner. He arranges special occasions for society ladies from Beverly Hills and Brentwood, and big-budget dos for HBO and other corporate clients.
Between gigs, Butchkavitz -- a surname that even feels like an event -- talked about his party planning philosophy and how to make a Halloween bash stylish and surprising without spending a bazillion bucks.
If you’re having people over tonight, quit fretting, he says. Do a little planning, take the focus and the pressure off yourself, and go for it. “It’s not about me, me, me,” he says. “It’s all about being a good host or hostess in the old sense of the word: Make your guests feel welcome.”
But first a little background on Butchkavitz. His sense of party all started with mom.
“My mom was a little bit of an artist before she got married. She did window displays for local department stores, and my dad was an architect. They let us tinker with stuff, and they didn’t mind us making messes.”
That’s how Butchkavitz, a vegetarian and a teetotaler who “couldn’t cook to save myself,” grew up to be the life of the party. What he lacks in culinary expertise, he more than makes up in style and hospitality.
And most importantly, don’t worry about impressing guests. “Just be yourself.”
Easy for him to say. Butchkavitz looks like an unflappable party-planning angel sent to smooth over any earthly disaster. His enormous blue eyes are set in a baby face that’s a combination of young Elton John and Donovan, framed by pale gold curls. In tan patchwork pants, faded denim shirt and square-toed Palomino boots, he’s got his own laid-back style and a soothing voice that exudes the subliminal message, “Everything’s going to be OK.”
Tips from Billy’s notebook
The guest list: “It gets so boring if you’re all lawyers. Bring in dancers, college students, artists, the young and the old. It’s the responsibility of the host to entertain the guests and stimulate them mentally.”
The music: “Mix it up. Everything from Luis Miguel to Doris Day. Put the CD on shuffle and have music in other languages. You don’t want Britney or whatever’s on the Top 40. Try to educate guests, not bore them.”
Costumes: “In a little house or cottage, people in big proppy costumes will knock things over. And some people are intimidated. If you must, just ask everybody to wear black or some other color. You can provide a hand-held mask on a stick or bizarre wigs at each place setting.”
Drinks: “You don’t have to have a special drink. Dry ice at home is just annoying. Just do a nice punch with dried leaves and pumpkins around it.”
Snacks: “When I do a party at my house, I get takeout from different restaurants. It’s very eclectic. For Halloween, you could do weird stuff like snails or chocolate-covered ants, or garnish trays with the dried fish and shrimp you buy in Chinatown. Or have shish-kebabs with the skewers stuck into a rubber rat.”
Desserts: “I’m a big dessert person. If you have a bakery you like, get pumpkin cookies. Or just buy slice-and-bake cookies, and use witch and ghost cookie cutters.”
Make it memorable: “Make a punch that goes with your theme. And when guests come to the door, have it all decorated. That makes an impact.”
Make it stylish: “People do e-vites, but I like real invitations. They don’t have to be expensive. Make them yourself, like little orange craft-paper pumpkins in green envelopes. And have party favors. Trick-or-treat bags with something inexpensive.”
Make it surprising: “Do something that’s not the norm. If your friends aren’t used to having three-course meals, serve salad and entree separately and have dessert in a different room.”
Billy’s twist on Halloween
Day of the Dead house party: Use a muslin table cloth, or painter’s canvas on the table, and set out folk-art skeletons, skulls and candles. No black-and-orange candles, use white or ivory instead. The colors look better and you can use the candles after the holiday. Serve snacks like orange-and-black blue corn tortilla chips with guacamole spooned into a little black plastic caldron.
Gothic dinner: Decorate with tall candles or candelabras and faux spider webs. Cover everything with white fabric or sheets, the table, the chairs -- make it look like an eerie, abandoned house. You can get a spooky look by putting fabric over lamp shades. And have lots of candlelight. Surprise guests by setting a formal table and then serving burgers and fries.
Retro bash: Do the hokey ‘60s thing with plastic pumpkins. And for your buffet table, drag out the big galvanized tub -- as if you’re bobbing for apples -- but fill it with apples and floating candles. Or stock it with ice, sodas and Coronas, so you’re bobbing for drinks. Use plastic pumpkins filled with fresh flowers or candy treats placed around the house. Make caramel apples studded with candy corn, and serve vintage kiddie treats: cracker jacks, mini-candy bars, wax fangs. Have a special beverage to match the apple decor: green apple martinis or cider for people who don’t drink.