HOLIDAY PARTY TIME IS HERE!


The holiday party season is here. And if you are like some just the  thought of hosting a holiday party send you into a panic. All the effort and work that is involved with party planning, especially this time of year when our plates are so full. All the decorations, drinks, food and fun, oh my… the pressure!

When looking to plan a party and avoid the dreaded stress, nothing works better than a bit of pre-party planning. And when it comes to holiday party prep truer words have never been spoken. So first and foremost when organizing and molding a special holiday soiree it’s all about calculating what in deed needs to be accomplished.

Holiday Party Time is all about the Planning!

First and foremost decide what kind of party you want to throw. Its holiday party time but do you want to have a large noisy one or a small cozy one, a cocktail party or a sit down dinner or something in between. And then before you go any further it is helpful to make a plan.

Take a look around and determine what needs to be accomplished way before the special date. And whenever I am asked, I tell everyone, work with a party planning checklist. A checklist will become your best friend and will ensure you cover all the bases and don’t forget one single thing.

Once that party planning checklist is ready, choose a date and time, design the guest list and send out the invites. These days I am a huge fan of sending out invites online. There are some great, fast and money saving sites like punchbowl.com and evites.com that get the job done and more.

Holiday Party Time Eat, Drink and be Merry!

What to serve is the next task at hand. Determine the food and drink menu you want to dish up and how. Do you want to go the way of heavy hors d’oeuvres, sit down dinner, food stations, full bar, wine and only and so on? Some of the best advice I have ever received when it comes to hosting a holiday party is to follow the KISS rule – keep it simple silly.

Plan what works best for you and your party plan, you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen for the duration of the party. And always ensure you have an idea of the number of guests coming to your party so you can ensure you have everything you need on hand. Why be prepared for 100 if only 50 guests are attending and vice versa.

Another great piece of advice that took me a while to follow, is the party host should always remember to carve out some time for themselves before the party guests arrive. Take some precious moments to relax and chill out and then when it’s party time don’t forget to have fun enjoy yourself.

The holiday season is not just about what you receive, buy or eat. Whether you celebrate the holidays or not, this is a special the time of year to enjoy friends and family. So once you hear that first knock on the door or ring of the bell forget about the challenges and stress and just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

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