9 Tips for Having a Great Holiday Party

Many people host holiday parties in their homes at this time of year, but there are often small details that get overlooked during the preparation.  This list of 9 tips for having a great holiday party (complete with Christmas party shopping list) will help you remember these little things while you’re still in the planning phase.

9 Tips that Make Holiday Party Prep Easy

1.  Expect 1/3 of the people you invited to attend, but plan for double. You never know how many people will really attend your Christmas party, and it’s better to be prepared for more than to fall short of food or supplies.
2.  Shop in advance. Shopping for your Christmas party’s food and supplies well in advance will ease your stress and make you less likely to panic if the first store is out of what you need.
3.  Make a complete list of holiday party supplies and food items before shopping. This list could include:

• Napkins and tablecloths
• Paper plates, plastic spoons and forks, plastic cups
• Platters and serving dishes
• Serving utensils such as large spoons and pie servers
• Finger foods and hors d’oeuvres
• Ingredients for all main dishes and desserts
• Juice, soda, or bottled water
• Alcoholic beverages and mixers needed to make holiday cocktails
• Bottle opener for wine or cider
• Extra toilet paper and paper towels
• Christmas CDs or MP3s (if you’re planning to play your own holiday music)
• Disposable cameras for guests to use and leave with you afterwards (this is a great way to ensure you get a lot of pictures from your party) or use a sharing app so people can upload pics from their phones
• Extra chairs or folding tables

Holiday Party Bathroom Prep

4.  Take anything out of the medicine cabinet you don’t want seen,  including prescriptions and other personal items.  It’s a well known fact that humans are curious creatures, and if guests use your bathroom the desire to snoop might be overwhelming!
5.  Don’t make people dry their hands on your used bath towel.  Either put out fresh towels on a towel rack or paper towels, but please don’t make people go over to your shower to look for something to dry their hands on!
6.  Empty the trash. An empty trash bag looks clean and tidy and will make the trash can less likely to overflow before the party is over.
7.  Make sure you leave toilet paper backup. One roll of toilet paper isn’t going to cut it – leave a few spare rolls in a highly visible place, such as on the back of the toilet or on a nearby shelf.

Holiday Party Food Tips

8.  Have backup food ready.  Just in case people are hungrier than expected or more guests arrive than RSVPd, have some party snacks in reserve.
Either leave them in the refrigerator or pantry depending on what they are, but make sure they are already on a tray and ready to set out as needed.
9.  Go easy on the alcohol. Many hosts like to offer alcoholic beverages such as wine or cocktails at their holiday parties, but you want to keep things from getting out of control at the same time.

• Only set out a small selection of alcoholic drinks along with a large selection of nonalcoholic drinks, such as punch, juice, or even hot apple cider.
• If you notice that a certain person is getting a little loud or obnoxious from too much drink, don’t put any more bottles out for a while.
• Some hosts will also choose to make nonalcoholic cocktails, such as daiquiris and other frozen blended drinks.

Above all, remember to have fun!  As the host, your behavior will set the tone for all the other guests at the party.  If you are relaxed and friendly, they will be too.
Plan ahead and anticipate your needs, but go easy on yourself as far as the expectations of throwing the perfect holiday party.  None of the guests are going to remember a little detail that you forgot as long as they are enjoying themselves and your good company!

Photo credits Kris de Curtis through attribution license and Scott Snyde.