The holidays are here which means it is entertainment season. During this time of the year, parties will be in full swing during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and all days in between.
Are you having a party? I want to share with you four steps to help jumpstart the planning process.
1. Decide on your guest list and the date – If you are inviting people to your party other than family members, be mindful of inviting them on the actual holiday as people tend to reserve these dates for family and close friends. Finding a date that suits everyone may be difficult. It’s always good to err on the side of the majority.
2. Determine your budget – A number of items can factor into determining your budget. Will you have the party at your house or rent a venue? Have you considered having a potluck instead of you providing all of the food? When it comes to decor, spruce up your current decor by adding a few holiday elements that can be used yearly.
3. Theme – It’s not always necessary to have a theme. The particular holiday may be used as the theme which doesn’t require anything special from your guests. But if you desire, for Christmas, you may decide to have a White Elephant Exchange, the ugliest Christmas sweater contest or the best holiday jewelry. It’s important to remember, if you are having a theme party, make sure it is indicated on your invitation.
4. Invitations – Make sure to include a RSVP date to determine your actual guest count. If you prefer not to have children attend the party, Judene McCalla, an Invitation Designer from See You There Hand Crafted Invitations suggested adding “Adults Only”, “Adults Only Reception” or “Strictly No Children Please” on your invitation. It’s important to know your guest count so that you can properly prepare the correct amount of food, plates, flatware, etc.
To learn more about Judene and her company, make sure you check back here on December 5. She is an excellent designer and last year was voted best invitation designer in Canada. She designed some save the dates and invitations for me and I’m still hearing about the elegance and the beauty of those products.
In the meantime, be sure to check in on Tuesday as we will be talking about the preparation for entertaining. Are you entertaining this holiday season? If so, is it a theme party? I would love to hear your holiday plans.
Photo credit: Frolic Photography by Maryanne Wey
Celebrate, Tanza
Great article Tanza. Thank you for including me on this post. Another subtle way an host can indicate that children is not invited is excluding their names on the mailing envelope.
Judene, Funny you mentioned the names on the envelope. I’m actually going to address that in a future post.
Great tips Tanza. Just in time for the holidays. So many people get the host ball thrown into there hands and have no idea where to begin so these tips will definitely help to stare them in the right direction. And yes Judene is excellent! Her work is exceptional 🙂
Thank you Nikeicha. You are so correct. Some people get delegated the big task of being host especially during the holidays.
Love all the tips – each one is so important- great post!
I attended an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party one year and it was by far the most fun I’ve ever had, it’s interesting how a theme can set the tone of a party!
I love hand-crafted invitations! I try them out occasionally inspired by Pinterest!
Great tips Tanza and thanks for letting people who don’t want to have a theme off the hook. I can’t tell you how hard it is to work with someone who feels that they have to have a theme but have no idea about what theme will best speak to them and their event.