This month (it’s December already!!!???) you will likely attend lots of holiday parties in addition to your local shindig on Christmas Eve where all the Jews go to celebrate nothing else being open (the Place2Be, the MatzoBall, the Mitzvah Ball, the Vodka Latke, etc). If you are single heading into the New Year then attending one of these events is a MUST.

But you also MUST send the right signals while you’re there.

• Dress classy, not costume-y. You want to be taken seriously as a dating prospect, not just a fun one-nighter. So, dress sexy, but not trashy.
• Make eye contact and smile. The best way to let someone know you’re interested is to catch their eye and hold it for a few seconds while you smile.
• Stand tall and relaxed. Slumped posture with arms crossed over your chest gives off a closed vibe.
• Laugh. Have fun and enjoy yourself. People want to be around other positive people.
• Be forward, but polite. If you are talking to someone that you are not interested in, then warmly inform them that you want to find your friends and that you hope they have a nice evening. You don’t need to waste your time with people you don’t like, but having good manners is important. Your prospect could be close enough to overhear you excusing yourself.
• Do a stink check. Nothing will turn someone off faster than body odor or bad breath.

Schmooz-A-Palooza and other hookup-on-Christmas-Eve (or New Years Eve) parties are great opportunities to meet someone, but they are also ample opportunity to run into more than one someone, which could create awkwardness. Everyone on 100hookup spends time studying the faces of their 100hookup matches so when you attend one of the huge holiday singles events you are bound to run into more than one person you recognize and possibly more than one person that you are actually communicating with — or even dating. You may even attend the event with a date and run into someone else you have been JDating. What do you do when this happens? First off, play it cool. As long as you’re not pretending to be in a committed relationship then you’ve done nothing wrong. Make introductions, otherwise it will be even more awkward if it’s obvious that you don’t want two people to meet, and then tell one of your 100hookups that you will catch up to them later. You may inadvertently burn a bridge with one of your prospects, but that’s par for the course. You could have run into one date while with another at any bar or restaurant, so it shouldn’t come as that much of a shock to anyone if you run into more than one prospect during a major holiday singles event. If you’re the one seeing a 100hookup with another prospect, don’t take it personally and don’t let it ruin your night. Everyone is there to meet someone, including you. Keep a smile on your face and try to meet new people!

It’s 8pm on December 24th. Do you know where your hookup friends are? If they’re in the know, then they’re likely at the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills for SCHMOOZ-A-PALOOZA®, also known as “The Chosen Party™.”

Held for the first time at the world-famous SLS Hotel Beverly Hills, this year’s SCHMOOZ-A-PALOOZA is guaranteed to surprise guests with sweet delights at every turn. In line with this year’s theme (Growing Up hookup), the SLS ballroom will bring guests back to their youth for a wild and crazy night of fun, including:

• A Bar/Bat Mitzvah-themed dance floor run by one of LA’s top DJs
• Specialty cocktails such as the “Minty Mensch” and the “Shticky S’more”
• Themed rooms like “Camp Corner” and “Sundae School” throughout the SLS
• A campy, but oh-so-fun photobooth to help you remember all the fun you’re having
• A VIP section with its own bar, private seating and bottle service
• “Jewnese” egg rolls from MOE Deli’s gourmet food truck
• An exclusive discount from Uber car service so you can arrive in style

For those who don’t celebrate Christmas, this holiday fete is the place to be whether you’re single, in a relationship or happily married. Tickets are on sale now, but don’t wait… you don’t want to be the only one home alone eating Chinese food in front of your TV!

So last week, post-Schmooz-A-Palooza®, this princess boarded THE Princess and sailed off to visit the Mexican Riviera. The ship was absolutely filled with young quarter-life crisis kids and the most outgoing of us (which was thankfully the majority) clicked right from the start, making this the perfect young maiden’s voyage. Ringing in twenty-ten with three thousand of my closest strangers was a surprising blast, and although the New Year’s kiss usually has girls feeling more than single and guys dealing with the whole “I don’t want to give her the wrong relationship idea” thing, this was just one giant ALL-night party that left those hypnotized by various intoxicants free to either (dis) or engage in a little NYE lip-locking. The entire ship, no matter what age, seemed to party sans drama ‘til twenty-ten’s first dawn. The entire experience was by far one of my fave trips, and it completely had me craving another cruise sooner rather than later. Though most people consider an out-of-the-country fling a temporary one, the last time I met someone on a cruise, we ended up dating on and off for two years. Mind you we didn’t kiss and tell during the weeklong vacay, we waited until we were safely back on So-Cal soil to sexperiment. All and all the trip down the Pacific Coast was sinsational, if that’s how this year started, I can’t wait to see what else it brings. Something wonderfully wicked this way comes.

So the Schmooz-A-Palooza® came and went and all those who think it’s nice to be naughty ventured out to the Sunset strip for an evening that was absolutely unbelievable.  Mix a little couture, cocktails, and a cute crowd and nothing could go wrong.  I was lucky enough to have my fave wing girls on hand for various cute boyfriend sightings.  Boyfriend: Noun, slang for possible future dating contestant.  There were too many boyfriend sightings to count, and with the various raised hemlines, I’m sure these boys weren’t disappointed.  With everyone dressed to impress, liquid courage in hand, and a million different options, it made me wish St. Nick would haunt Hollywood at least twice a year.  You may think making out is not entirely a spectator sport but locking lips was not exactly a behind the scenes event that night.  In fact, the backstage pass was handed out by several people, and though it wasn’t all access, the stalkerazzi still had something to talk about the next day.  We left oh-nine looking fine.  Here’s hoping twenty-ten is a total dime…

I rarely get excited for events of any sort of religious nature, but the Schmooz-A-Palooza is coming up around the corner and is always an exception. Rather than a mixer where one goes to meet Mr. Right, she goes to meet and greet Mr. (or Misses!) Right Now, in a low-key, no pressure type of setting. The three floors filled with scandalously-clad kids allow for absolutely no boredom, and an endless array of active options. More or less, this night (unlike all other nights) serves as one giant reunion, and in addition to meeting people of a newer nature, ghosts from friends past, present, and future come from The Valley and the Westside to join in the festivities of a party so grand it takes an entire year to put together. So rather than stuff stockings and wait for the obese jolly man who could certainly use a fat flush stat, get to the party that everyone else and their mother will be at. More than likely you have work off the next day anyway and you never need an excuse to let loose on the famed sunset strip.

This past Monday night, I ventured past the hills and into West Hollywood for what I thought would be just another night out of drinking and dancing. When I got to Apple lounge, I inadvertently found myself in the middle of matzo ball madness, and it seems I should have brought a passport in order to gain admittance to this direct import from the Holy land. It was insanity as soon as I walked through the door. Between the jewtastic mob of people and the various exclamations of Hebrew phrases, I was considering adding rosetta stone to my next birthday wishlist. I had several encounters with people from my past right there in my present and I instantaneously had flash backs to the Schmooz-A-Palooza, where a girl can’t walk 10 feet before running into some former friend, bringing the six degrees of hookup separation to life in a whole new way. Israeli music was mixed in to mingle with whatever has recently dropped on Power 106, and the dancefloor was like a mob scene that could rival Times Square on any given New Year’s Eve. All in all, the entire evening offered a much needed break for jaded young Hollywood enthusiasts and this alternative form of play was long overdue. In a city where a girl can eat cuisine from various continents with all the ease and grace of a seasoned celebrity posessing unlimited funds, she should be able to party like one. My late night IHOP (international house of partying) escapade was a success and had me lusting for another out of country experience. Yesterday Israeli Insanity, today California casual, tomorrow Cancun!