Good evening Ireland, and that’s an order. Jameson and entertainment.ie have teamed up in pursuit of a great night out. So if you have no plans, read on…

Every night out, whether you had planned it or not, goes through various stages that are well known to us all. From pulling together a quick bite to eat to making sure the soundtrack to your night is second to none, a lot of planning goes in to it, even if you’re not sure where you’re going once you walk out the door.

Stage 1: The couch

You spend a few hours convincing yourself that either you’re not going out, or that you've got loads of time and sure it’ll be grand. That involves possibly watching the match, playing a few games of FIFA or making sure that you keep an eye on who’s in and who’s out on the X Factor. Is yer one in with the weird accent still in it, yeah? We are pretty comfortbale here, now that you mention it.

Stage 2: The grub

If you are thinking about staying in, then it’s time to get that slap up meal together. Everyone has a specialty in the kitchen, be it a fancy Bolognese or maybe you've got the right combo of toppings for a frozen pizza, but making sure your hunger is taken care of will always be a top priority. You don't want people to wonder whether what they heard was your stomach rumbling or a dog growling.

Stage 3: The dithering

Are you actually going to go out? It is raining outside and you are currently full of pizza. Besides, you’d have to take off your comfortable tracksuit bottoms and you could just have everyone round for a quiet night in… Then again, the last time you went out it was pretty good, maybe something unexpected will happen that makes this night worth remembering. That’s it, we’re going. Wait, was that thunder? We're staying. But John’s been organising this night for a few days and he’ll never let us forget it if we don’t go…

Stage 4: The routine

The shower, the shave, the hair do, it’s an all-important part of the process, some would call it vital. Whether you can squeeze it in to five minutes or it takes you two hours, you've got to allow sufficient time after dithering to get your stuff together. Once you're washed, liberally apply some scent: cologne or a quick spritz of perfume, but don’t overdo it, you don’t need people to smell you before they see you.

Stage 5: the soundtrack

Putting together the Perfect Pre-Night Out Playlist is as important as finding the right venue for your evening’s activities. It can make or break the evening, and you need to find the right mix of new hits and retro classics. It’s a delicate balance between hip-hop, indie and good old fashioned power ballads that you lip sync to with passion. There should also be liberal air guitar sprinkled in, or possibly air bass.

Stage 6: The outfit

Now that you’ve cleaned up and the music is pumping, you need to get your outfit together. There are endless possibilities given that you’re not quite sure where the night is going to take you, but the dilemma is whether you go casual and cool or slick and smart to make sure you don’t get stopped at the door. Will these shoes go with those jeans? Maybe not…what about this shirt? Or that top? Now all the clothes are all over the bed and we can’t find anything. This is a lot of effort, we need a system.

Stage 7: The final mirror check

No spare hair product stuck in your hair? Check. Any food stains still in or around your mouth? Negative. Check for phone, keys and money, and we’re good to go. Ahhhh one last look first…yeah, we scrub up well.

If you're heading out this weekend, then make sure you've ticked every box on the checklist before you head out the door. With Jameson you’ll be ready for whatever the weekend has in store, no matter what avenue it ends up taking you down. Enjoy Jameson sensibly, visit drinkaware.ie.