Holiday season is upon us! I don’t know about you, but sometimes hosting a holiday party can be intimidating and honestly, stressful. Many give up before they even begin to plan, and I’ve been there, done that! I finally came up with these 6 steps to help motivate myself and make sure that I enjoy holiday party planning. I’m sharing them with you today in hopes they’ll inspire you to host a fabulous event yourself!
1. Choose a date your VIP guests can attend
Whether it be the family or friends you definitely want to spend time with, or that friend or friends that everyone has a great time when they show up, make sure they are available for the date you want to host.
Invitation from Minted.com
2. Send a great invitation
Guests go to parties they know they’ll enjoy, so choose something pretty and give plenty of details. Let them know what to expect for the food and the fun. Guests love knowing details and are more likely to come if they feel it’ll be an easy night to enjoy.
Photo courtesy of Marissa Ann Photography
3. Prep your space
Set up your space for a great party flow, remembering those that need a corner to chill in and that space you’ll need for your favorite games. Shifting furniture into great flow patterns before guests arrive, then decorating to keep everyone in a festive mood, is the key to making guests feel welcome and getting them to stay a while.
4. Make the menu easy on you
Whether hosting a cocktail party, buffet dinner or a formal seated dinner event, choose dishes that you can do all the prep work before the event and won’t leave you tied to the kitchen the entire time. Choose make-ahead appetizers and maybe just a dish or two that needs to be warmed before guests arrive. For larger events or complicated menus, hiring staff to finish and serve meals is also a wise investment so you can enjoy the evening with your guests and not worry about the timing of meal components.
5. Set up a self-serve cocktail bar
Right along with your menu, make this easy so you aren’t tied to serving drinks. Include pre-cut garnishes, possibly a pre-mixed cocktail or two and a few selections of your favorite wines. Your guests can help themselves and all you’ll need to worry about is replenishing throughout the evening if necessary.
Photo courtesy of Katie Cassidy Photography
6. Enjoy yourself!
All of these steps are to help you set the party up, so you can enjoy the time with your guests. If you are having a great time, so will your guests.
Hopefully, these “hosting a holiday party” hacks will encourage you to gather your loved ones and help for it to not feel so overwhelming. After all that is what the holidays are all about! If your holiday party does feel like too much to handle, shoot us an email and we would be glad to help! Be sure to check out upcoming blogs to hear about more about hosting a holiday party!
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