Happy Hours.(party hints)

Best Guest List

Best Guest List "One more drink, and I'd have been under the host," Dorothy Parker once quipped. You can show your enthusiasm without getting horizontal. * Always be on time It sounds elementary, but few people do it. "Come at the time the party was called for," says Elizabeth Harrison, coauthor of Fete Accompli!: The Ultimate Guide to Creative Entertaining (Clarkson Potter). Those who dread being first on the scene should arrive no more than 15 minutes late, and "try to come with a group, so you can help fill the room," says Patricia Lansing, a designer for Carolina Herrera. A note to early birds, courtesy of Eve Gerber, who serves on various charities in Los Angeles: "It's rude to show up when someone is still in their bathrobe." * Bring the right gift Forget flowers: Lara Shriftman, Harrison's coauthor, suggests a guest book or a photo album -- "T. Anthony has beautiful monogrammed ones." Gerber brings Diane Kron's K Sensual chocolates, which allegedly increase the sex drive. "Who cares if they work?" she asks. And Lansing maintains that the best gift is an offer to help clean up the postparty mess. * Make a toast to the past If you want to bring alcohol, think outside the foil bag. "I went to a party with a bottle of Jffigermeister," says Samie Kim, a vice president at Fox Broadcasting in Los Angeles. "Five minutes later, ...