Time was, throwing a party meant ordering a keg, assembling a DIY cosmo bar, and mixing Jell-O shots.

But that was when you were a kid. (Okay, last month.) How about hosting a real cocktail party? Think Manhattans, sidecars, and silver trays of canapes. Think Boston Unique Events.

Upgrade your drinking habits with a retro-chic cocktail theme. The staff arrives with bar gear and ingredients for champagne cocktails, whiskey smashes, and other classics. They serve smoked-salmon gougeres, tuna tartare on lotus root, and buckwheat blini with caviar.

All you have to do is slip into an elegant outfit (they’ll even provide a stylist on request) and delight everyone with your sparkling conversation.

Your friends (now expert drinkers) will praise you as a gracious hostess. You’ll bask in the glow of your simple brilliance.

And the fact that someone else will be cleaning up the mess.

Boston Unique Events (617-926-1900 or bostonuniqueevents.com).