Plan a great party and skip the leftovers with these party guidelines

Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) (MCT) - It was the day after your annual holiday party, and you woke up to the typical scene _ cups and plates laying about and tons of leftovers stuffed in the refrigerator. But there is a way to prepare the correct amount of snacks for this year's party.

Sandy Brooks of Culinary Delights Catering in Williamsburg, Va., gives these party tips:

Plan before you shop. Although there isn't one standard formula for figuring out correct food proportions, planning the meal ahead of time is one of the most important steps to getting it right. You need to decide what time of day the party will be, whether you'll serve meats or just light appetizers, and whether it will be a buffet-style or a sit-down meal.

Men vs. women. You'll also need to know the ratio of men to women and adults to children in the planning phase. Typically, men will eat more than women, and you'll need to keep an eye on those teenage boys, who can really put a dent in the food.

Consult the Internet. Brooks often consults the Internet to determine how much food she'll need for a party. She suggests the Web site evite.com, which has a calculator for food proportions. You can also search for "quantities of party food" or a quantities of a specific dish in any search engine and you'll find dozens of helpful charts.

Food by the numbers. Here are some basic party food guidelines from reasontoparty.com.

5-6 ounces of meat, poultry or seafood per person

1 pound of pasta serves 4-6 people at a sit-down dinner and 8-10 people at a buffet

1 handful of pre-mixed salad per person

10-12 appetizer items per person

1 full portion of dessert per person. If cake is the only option, one cake will serve 10, but 15 can be served if you're also offering pie.

Drinks by the numbers. In general, plan for two drinks per person for the first hour, and one drink per hour per person for every hour after that. The Web site reasontoparty.com offers these drink guidelines for specialty drinks.

1 gallon of coffee serves 20 cups.

1 fifth of vodka serves 25 drinks (one shot per drink).

1 liter of vodka serves 33 drinks (one shot per drink).

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© 2008, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.).