Cocktail Party Myth #1: Always arrive fashionably late.
This is a patently ridiculous idea. It is far better to arrive early, so early the host is still setting up the bar. If you are crashing the party and don’t know the man from Adam, bring along a large bag of ice and inform him “Mike” sent you ahead. If he inquires as to which Mike, tell him John’s pal. John who? Why, the John who used to date Heather. Eventually the key will turn. An early entrance not only earns you first dibs on the choicest liquors, but also makes the fashionably late assume you’re a dear old friend of the host and will thus treat you with deference and respect. Either of which may stay the hand that wishes to alert the authorities to your behavior later.
