Tips for Hosting Large Groups this Holiday Season
Hosting a holiday party this season? Whether you’re a seasoned host or it’s your first year taking on the task, we have tips that are sure to make your gathering go smoothly while hosting for the holidays.
PLANNING
As with any event in life, one of the key factors in hosting a great event will be some level of planning. Don’t let that statement overwhelm you too much—you can do this in a way that works with your schedule and that you can take at your own pace.
Some key aspects to planning your event include: determining what size and what type of gathering you want to have. Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean the gathering has to be formal. Maybe it’s not a traditional Thanksgiving, but a low key Friendsgiving where everyone brings a dip. Perhaps it’s a girls-only Gratitude Night where guests donate to a local charity and write thank you notes, or a co-ed ugly sweater party with games. Whatever the event is, narrow down your vision and get your invite list put together.
If you’re looking for a fun way to invite people, you can try designing an invitation on free design apps, or even an e-vite so people don’t have to scroll through a group chat or go on Facebook to remember when it is. Good party etiquette suggests letting your guests know about the event 3 weeks ahead of time, so once you’ve received your RSVPs you can move on to the next part of planning.
If you’re serving food, another important planning step will be honing in on what food you’d like to serve, and how much you’ll need, based on your number of guests. There are no hard and fast rules here, so try to make things easy on yourself where you can. Perhaps that looks like asking guests to bring a drink or dessert, or purchasing some of your food from the store—it really isn’t a big deal!
PARTY PREP
Once you have your party vision nailed down, you can begin prepping for the big day. Do your shopping as far ahead of time as you can so that you’re less stressed, and have ample time if, for instance, the store is out of a certain ingredient. If you’ve asked guests to bring something, perhaps shoot out a reminder text that you’re looking forward to seeing them and can’t wait to try their famous dessert!
Cleaning your house or event space ahead of time might be the one task you want to space out and do as far ahead as possible. Saving cleaning and decluttering tasks until the day of is a recipe for stress—the one thing you definitely don’t want on your menu! Clean your house little by little the week leading up to the party, and consider perhaps even having your table set a day or so ahead, so that all you have to do is set the food down and dig in when the day arrives.
The same principle applies to cooking; if there’s anything you can do in advance, help yourself out and do it then, especially if pieces of the meal can be easily refrigerated or frozen. Make sure you have all the dishes, cookware, and containers you might need to avoid scrambling at the last second.
AT THE EVENT
Once the day has finally arrived, be sure to enjoy it as much as you can. You’ve planned and prepared, and now you get to invite your loved ones into your home to make memories.
If you want, you can add small details to make things even more friendly and inviting, such as playing music, lighting candles, having a space set aside for guest’s belongings, etc. Anything you think might make your guests feel more at home will also help you feel more at ease.
This is a great time of year, so be sure to enjoy it! Wondering how exactly to decorate your home for the holidays? Look no further than our design tips blog for the holiday season.
