There’s an old saying that seasoned Booze Lords like myself use: “You can’t drink all day unless you start in the morning.”

Sound advice. Particularly because of the coming wave making its way toward Pullman. That’s right: Mom’s Weekend. That magical time of year when the birth-givers descend upon our quaint, but awesome, little town to visit their loin fruit and rehash their own memories of college with wine-soaked and mimosa-slamming abandon. And why not? That’s the benefit of being a grown up. More on that later.

For now, I want to switch gears and take Booze News in a completely different direction. Since I have had the privilege of delighting all you beautiful bastards out there, I have covered everything from breweries and restaurants to cocktail lounges and wineries.

But there is a small sect of “tipping a few” that I have yet to cover: The great hodge-podge of  drinking games, boxed wine, a 30-pack of Stones and that weird bottle of orange-flavored rum that’s been hanging out in the back of your fridge because nobody else wants to drink it. I speak of none other than the most common of drinking locations and events: the house party. So I went to one.

There are a few guidelines to follow when throwing a house party. First, know your venue. If you want 60 people to jam and slam, for the love of Zeus, don’t throw it in your one-bedroom apartment. This was not one of those cases.

Second, be a good host or hostess. There’s an unwritten rule that every party is BYOB, but that does NOT mean you don’t throw down for beer or libations of one sort or another for your guests. Their booze is for them to drink at THEIR leisure, not when you tell them to start filling for a game of “Rage Cage.” This, also, was not one of those cases.

Speaking of games, last weekend’s rager was full of “Beer Pong,” “Rage Cage,” “Picolo” (it’s an app) and other assorted distractions. That’s all well and good, but the best part of any party is the social circle, and by that I mean the fire pit outside.

I left pong and the cage to the young and the amateurs. I pulled up my throne, which in this case was a Coleman chair-in-a-bag, and found a spot by the fire. I took a drink from my chalice, which was filled to the brim with a classic from my partying days of old: Southern Comfort and Newman’s Own Lemonade.

Back to Mom’s Weekend. From 5 – 7 p.m. Friday, the 34th annual Winefest kicks off at Todd Hall. This event is $60 at the door. Next, from 6 – 9 p.m., the Mom’s Weekend Fashion Show starts at Beasley Coliseum. Wine will be poured, and it’s $18 at the door.

There’s a smorgasbord of drinking and painting combinations, if drunk art is your thing. From 1 – 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Taste of CAHNRS starts at Vogel Hall and costs $30 at the door.

Please be safe, my friends, especially with Mom in town, and as always, bottoms up.