You know that I dig parties, and not the kind that make you run around like crazy and forget to enjoy yourself by the time they actually happen. No, I’m into the kind of parties that bring people together surrounding a new skill, an everyday chore, or even around the making of a fancy food product. After the best blogger-hosted book giveaway series a girl could ever dream of, it only makes sense that my own book giveaway should involve a party; that’s just how I roll.

(I really wanted to call this post “Party like it’s 1929”, but, you know, these kinds of gatherings are just plain fun whether or not your house feels stricken by austerity measures.)

In true party-addict style, I co-hosted with my good friend Stephanie Austin’s National Can-It-Forward Day party at my house on Saturday. Eight of us all shared the costs, the work, and the dish-doing for ginger peach jam

spicy pickled okra

and lemon sage wine mustard

We ate delicious potluck-sourced snacks, sipped Oaxaca coffee and tangerine hibiscus tea and just got to know each other better. Some of us were very experienced and others had never before attempted sealing jars for shelf-storage. We spread our canning knowledge amongst each other and, of course, divvied up the loot!

This is precisely where the giveaway comes into play. I’m asking you to plan to host any type of skill-share party and invite 5 of your friends.

To enter, leave a comment below telling us what kind of party you’re planning to host. Giveaway will close at midnight CST on Monday, August 29. The winning party proposal will be selected via Random.org. You will not win if your email address is not in the appropriate box on the comment form (since I won’t be able to reach you).

I’ll send the winner six signed copies of my book and a couple jars of our collectively made homemade snackage (to get the potluck rolling).

It’s not required in order to win, but it would be fun to see how your party goes. Perhaps one of your invited friends can snap a few photos and show us all how it went?! I’ll post a round-up of shots and a recap of the winner’s party along with photos from anyone else who hosts a hip-homies-inspired party.

Good luck and happy plotting! I can’t wait to see what kinds of great ideas for gatherings you all come up with.