As the holiday season approaches, you are probably beginning to plan your next shindig. No matter the occasion or type of party you’re throwing, there are a few universal tips that can help you be the hostess with the “mostess”—or at least the one who throws the party everyone raves about for months to come.
Accept Help
Don’t be the hostess that never gets to see her guests because she’s constantly running to clean up or provide more food. A great way to avoid this hosting pitfall is to actually accept the offers of help you’ll no doubt receive. Invite your best friends over a half hour to an hour before the party begins, and assign them tasks that are fun and easy to do. You’ll be amazed at how much time it saves you, and your friends will be glad you finally accepted their offers of assistance. Plus, their presence will make it less awkward when the first party guest arrives—there will already be people to mingle with!
Hire Some Outside Help
With cooking, cleaning, and last-minute details to worry about, you’ll need to figure out ways to spread out the work. An easy way to do this? Hire an inexpensive cleaning service to come the day before. That way, you won’t be underfoot trying to prepare meals while they give your home a good scrubbing, and you’ll go to bed the night before with less to stress about. The next day you can pick up any untidiness that comes along with prepping your house for guests.
Prep Food Ahead of Time
If you’re planning on making three food items at once, know that at least one of them will get burned. It’s a fact of life, and spreading yourself too thin is a surefire way to ruin a dish. Help yourself out and make at least two dishes ahead of time for every one dish you have to make on the day of the party. This ratio will allow you to breathe easy and provide plenty of food for everyone who shows up at your door.
Make it Fun
Your guests will no doubt attend a variety of holiday parties in the upcoming months, so make yours stand out with a fun theme. National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is official now, so have this be the theme if you decide to throw a Christmas party. Encourage everyone to wear ugly Christmas sweaters in your invitations, and laugh the night away at people’s amazingly atrocious outfits.
Focus on Scent
Can you think of anything homier than the delicious wafting scent of fresh-baked cookies? Use an easy cookie recipe to prepare the dough a week beforehand and throw in the freezer. Come the day of the party, pop that dough into the oven for a no-work, delicious smelling treat your guests will smell the second they walk in the door. Light candles throughout the house, grate some citrus, or plug in an air freshener—smell is the sense with the strongest tie to memory, so make sure they remember your party with lovely scents.
A Little Liquid Encouragement
If you’re having guests over who enjoy a drink or two on occasion, you’ll never go wrong with stocking the libation table with wine and beer. For shy guests, letting their hair down might be easier after a light glass of wine. It also gives guests something to do with their hands, and a make your own drink station allows them an out from a conversation that may not be going as smoothly as they might hope—plus, you won’t be responsible for refilling empty glasses all evening. Make sure you offer other options for alcohol-free guests to ensure everyone has a great time.
Leave the Dishes
Under no circumstances should you start doing dishes while your guests are still in attendance. It’s a surefire cue for them to leave, or it may make them feel guilted into helping. If you have a nearby laundry room, have a few empty tubs prepared, and instruct guests to drop used plates into them. You can easily move them to the kitchen sink after the party is over or in the morning when you wake up. This will allow you to enjoy the party you planned to the fullest, and keep your kitchen clutter free for the entirety of the evening.
Get Your Mingle On
You’ll likely know everyone in your home—you created the guest list after all—so do your part to make sure to mix and mingle with all of them to ensure conversation is flowing. Be diligent about making introductions between friends you may think have something in common.
If you’re ready to host the party of the century, follow these easy tips and give your guests some amazing hospitality.
Great, great tips. It took me a long time to truly take advantage of prepping food ahead of time which makes a HUGE difference. Hiring someone to clean is also great advice, although I’ve never done it, especially when you have kids. Inevitably I end up scrambling to tidy up as guests start arriving!
Great tips that I will be using for our annual ugly Christmas sweater party this year. Thanks for sharing them!