I've wanted to try out the "2 hour cocktail party", based on the book linked in this HN comment. The author started doing this after moving to NYC, just hosting a cocktail party every month or so and inviting interesting people that he'd met. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems to cover all the classic hosting missteps and pains that I've experienced in the few get-togethers I'd previously hosted:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32879851