Christmas is the time of year that provides the perfect "backdrop" for a great party! It is also an incredibly busy time of year so planning a Christmas party can be not only time consuming but stressful. If you are like me though and you love the holiday then you will do pretty much anything you can to make your party happen, with or without the stress. Since Christmas is just around the corner, I have compiled a list of tips to help make your party planning a little bit easier.
TIP#1- GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME
Lets face it, planning a party takes a lot of time out of your already busy schedule. If you wait until the last minute your time will quickly run out. Give yourself a couple of months to prepare.
Christmas is a very busy time of year for everyone so you want to make sure that your guests have plenty of notice. Sending invitations via facebook, mail or phone should be the first thing you do after coming up with an appropriate date for your party. (note: if you are going to be doing invites by phone you may want to send a paper invitation to follow as people often forget. Having that little reminder on their fridge will make it more likely that they will RSVP to you by the appropriate time as well as remember to not double book themselves)
Giving yourself a couple of months to plan will also allow you to not stretch yourself too thin. Do one small thing that has to do with your Christmas party a day so towards the end of your planning you have more time to relax and enjoy the process!
TIP#2-PLAN APPROPRIATELY
Plan your party around the number of guests you will be having as well as the guest demographic. For instance if you are having a party where children are invited having a ton of adult games and nothing for the kids will lead to disaster. Children will get bored quickly and adults will end up having to look after them the entire time and really not enjoy themselves, so make sure you plan activities for all age groups attending.
On the topic of games, make sure your party is not too "structured". It is ok to have a few games and activities for everyone to enjoy and break the ice if some people are not familiar with each other, however follow the natural flow of the party, if people are mingling and enjoying themselves then forgo some of the activities you had planned and just enjoy the social atmosphere.
It is also important to plan for the amount of guests you will be having. Try to get a head count at least one or two weeks before your Christmas Party so that you can make sure you have enough food, drinks, seating, activities and room for everyone. There is nothing worse then throwing a party for your guests and running out of everything half way through, your party will be cut short very quickly. Remember it is always best to have too much then not enough. You can always return unopened alcohol and food can either be frozen or given away to guests at the end of the night.
TIP#3- SPACE PLANNING
If you have a small one bedroom apartment it doesn't mean you still can't throw a fantastic Christmas Party, just be smart about it. For instance if you have 50 people on your guest list there is no way they will fit comfortably in your tiny apartment, so make sure you take guest list size into consideration. I know it's the holidays and we don't want to offend anyone so a few options are: limit your guest list to a certain group of friends or family- if you are having an all family get-together or a few of your closest friends then people will understand, especially if you don't have much space to accommodate everyone.Instead of serving a big dinner that requires space for cooking and seating, have an evening party with h'orderves and finger foods.This way people are more likely to share time between sitting and standing, which will maximize your space.Cut the decorations- GASP! DID I JUST SAY THAT!? ... hear me out... if you have a small space then get a small tree! Having a 12 foot high 5 foot wide tree is not going to help your party atmosphere and if people are stuffed into your place like sardines chances are they won't notice it anyways. If all else fails and you really want to have a party with the large guest list, sit down dinner and decorations, change your location! Ask a family member or friend if you can host the party at their place but you will take care of everything or if you don't want to impose rent a hall or community center and host it there! Make sure you check out liability's and liquor licensing laws beforehand, because it is a public place you may be required to get a permit for alcohol. The hall usually provides all that information to you though!
TIP#4- DECORATIONS
Aside from spending time with my family decorating for Christmas has to be my next favorite thing! It is important to remember that decorations set the mood for any party. The first thing you want to do is decide the overall theme or color scheme you are going for with your decorations and stick to it. It doesn't have to be uniform throughout the house but each room should tell the same story. If there is one section of your house in particular that you are hosting your Christmas party then put all your best efforts there and make sure that room/ rooms are completed first to ensure they are done in time for your party.
Keep in mind that if you are going to have a Christmas tree in your decorated party space (which I believe you should) try not to have any presents underneath it until after your Christmas party unless there is a Secret Santa component. As wonderful as presents are and can really add cheer to a space as a party component they look cluttered and can get in the way, not to mention there is a greater risk of items getting broken.
While decorations are important try to remember the "less is more theory" Bring out the lights, the beautiful garlands, trees and gorgeous decorations but try not to un-pack and incorporate into your decor every Christmas craft your child has created, every nick knack Great Aunt Betty gave you or every Christmas item you just had to have and have sentimental attachment to. The more cluttered your party space the less space for guests, the less space for guests means the more likely people will be uncomfortable or your precious Christmas items will become damaged or broken.
A simple way of deciding what decorations to put out is to stick to your color scheme/theme and decorate accordingly to it. It is not only easier to choose what items to use but it is also more pleasing to the eye and will create a more cohesive and comfortable atmosphere, not to mention a conversation piece for your guests to mingle and talk about what a beautiful job you have done!
TIP#5-FOOD
A Christmas party does not mean that you need to host a full course dinner, however it is important to have some type of food being served, even just finger foods especially if alcohol is being served.
When hosting a party where food of any kind will be served always keep the number of people attending in mind. If you are going to have a very large meal it is probably best to keep your number of guests under ten people. Anything more then this and you won't be able to enjoy dinner yourself because you will be running around for everyone else.
It is ok to have a larger crowd however if you are hosting a pot-luck dinner. If you are hosting a pot luck make sure that it clearly says that on your invitations as well as that you keep track of who is bringing what, nothing worse then having a Christmas dinner comprised of ten Cesar salads!
As much as we like to get creative and extravagant when having a group of people over for dinner remember to keep it as simple as possible! Stick with staple items that are easy to make and can also be made ahead of time, we have all been there where we are stuck in the last ten minutes before dinner and are trying to cut the turkey, mash the potatoes, butter the vegetables and toss a salad all at the same time! It isn't fun and stressful for the host. Stay away from trying first time recipes at your Christmas dinner as well, if it ends in disaster then you will all be eating Chinese for Christmas. (not such a bad thing if this is your preference)
Make sure that you are aware of any allergies before you buy your ingredients. Either omit dishes all together that someone is allergic too or make different variations to accommodate and clearly make it known which dish has what in it, Some guests may even prefer to bring a dish that they can eat to share with everyone, which saves you one less dish to make and will allow you to be absolutely sure that there won't be any issues.
TIP#6-SAFETY & LIABILITY-
If you are going to be serving alcohol this holiday season remember that you are responsible for who comes to your party and who leaves. If someone leaves at the end of the night above the legal driving limit and gets into an accident you then become liable for that accident because you supplied the alcohol. If you have guests that you know will be driving home serve alcohol before and during dinner and afterwards start serving coffee or tea.
It is also important to have the local cab companies number on hand for anyone that needs it and also to make sure you have some cash in your wallet as well, this way you can see to it that a guest gets home safely if they have had a little too much to drink and no cash on hand.
It would be wise to make sure that you have your spare guest room set up for anyone who may end up needing a place to crash or you designate one person from your household to stay sober in case an emergency comes up or a guest needs to be driven home.
There are many options you can take to make sure that your guests are safe and that you are not put in a position to be held responsible in case something goes wrong.
I hope that some of these tips were helpful to you! Remember to just have fun! It can be stressful hosting a Christmas Party with so many expectations but as long as you are well planned and take all steps to ensure it runs smoothly then it should be a great time!
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