Make Your Holiday Hosting Duties Easier with These 5 Easy Steps

Holiday hosting is one of the most fun and rewarding part of the season. By inviting your friends, family, and coworkers into your home for a Christmas party, you embody the best parts of the season: love, community, and giving. That said, it can definitely also be stressful. From finding the right selection of Holiday dishes to serve, to knowing what decorations to adorn your walls with, there are tons of things to think about.

In this post, we’ll cover the essentials that you need to know to make your Holiday hosting easy and fun. Just follow these simple five steps and you’ll be well on your way to throwing a Holiday party that your friends and family won’t be soon to forget!

Step 1: Determine your budget

Parties cost money: from food platters to cleanup help, you are bound to spend a pretty penny on a big bash. However, not all parties cost the same amount; a smaller party will naturally be cheaper than a huge one. Before you get to work preparing decorations, making catering decisions, and planning the Christmas cocktail bar, it’s a good idea to determine how much you’re willing to spend.  

Pro-tip: If you’re really light on funds but still want to have a fun Holiday party, consider asking partygoers to chip in a bit to keep things festive. Just be honest and clear about your situation so they don’t think you’re just being cheap!

Step 2: Know your invite list

The next step you should take when making Holiday party preparations is deciding who you plan to invite. Your budget will probably determine this to a big extent, but you might also just have preferences on the vibe you’re going for. Maybe you like a relaxed evening with 10 to 12 of your closest friends sitting around the fire and trading Holiday stories. Or, maybe you want to blow the roof off your house cranking tunes and getting everyone moving on the dance floor. That’s totally up to you, but either way, make sure you plan out who you want to invite.

Step 3:  Plan your catering

People love to eat at parties, so it’s important that you have a plan for how you will get everyone fed. If your budget is a little tight, a Holiday potluck is an easy and fun way to fill everyone’s bellies without busting your bank account. Just make sure you use an online event planning app so everyone knows what everyone else is bringing and you don’t end up with 400 pigs in a blanket and nothing else.

Drinks are also something to keep in mind. Most people know it’s good form to bring a bottle of wine to a party, but it’s also best to provide your guests with ample libations. One fun idea is to set up a cocktail bar for your guests, and offer mocktails for the kids so they can get in on the fun too!

Step 4: Deck the halls with decorations

Luckily, decorating for a Christmas party is pretty simple since your theme is already pre-determined. Whether you choose a flower delivery to cover your home in poinsettias and other winter blooms, or simply lay out garlands on the shelves and mantle to give off that Christmas vibe, you want your guests to walk into a winter wonderland. Decorations aren’t just fun; they subconsciously let everyone know that it’s party time! 

Step 5: Put together a party playlist

Whether you are setting the mood for intimate fireside cheer or an all-out Holiday dance party, the playlist you decide on will help get people in the right mindset. Luckily, there is Holiday music of almost every genre that you can take advantage of! Classic Christmas songs are a great choice for an early-in-the-evening meet-and-greet while people are first arriving and catching up. Then, once everyone’s settled into the party and have put away a rum-and-eggnog or four, switch over to a Christmas pop playlist and start nudging people toward the dance floor.

The Holidays are a time to be close with the ones you love and share in Christmas cheer. Parties are one of the best ways to do that, and with this easy set of five steps, you can get started planning the perfect Holiday celebration!