Planning A Party? Count Yourself In On The Fun
When you throw a party at your home, there’s one very important guest you must pamper: yourself.
“If you aren’t a guest at your own party, no one else will be, either,” says party planner Karen Cohen of Scottsdale, a Phoenix suburb. “If you come out stressed and rushed and panicked, who can have fun?”
Keep the party simple, plan it down to the details, do the work in advance, and then give yourself time to relax and get in a party mood. You deserve it.
Here’s some advice you can follow this year or keep in mind for next:
Choose a theme and tone, from casual to formal, to help you decide on a menu, decorations and entertainment. Christmas and New Year’s are obvious themes, and there are infinite variations, such as Charles Dickens, Victorian, Mexican, Western or sports.
Set a budget but don’t be stingy. It’s better to serve a few people tasty homemade appetizers than a lot of people stale popcorn. Don’t overlook the cost of decorations, flowers, beverages, renting things or hiring people. Or hire professionals who can take care of everything.
Plan foods that are easy to fix and that can be prepared or bought in advance. Avoid foods that you have to fiddle with at the last minute or keep cooking during the party, unless you hire someone to help. Stick with familiar foods.
It’s better to have too much food than not enough. For an after-dinner party of about 50 people that is expected to last three or four hours, plan on at least six or seven appetizers, half hot and half cold.
Don’t be limited by what you have on hand. Consider what you can rent, such as portable bars, large barbecues, chafing dishes, coat racks, large coffee urns, lighted punch fountains, extra tables and chairs, china plates, silverware and glasses. Reserve items in advance.
Unless it’s an open-ended party, such as for family members or co-workers, invite people who are compatible.
Consider inviting or at least notifying your neighbors as a courtesy, because they’ll have to put up with the cars and noise.
Make invitations personal. Written, mailed invitations are best, followed by telephone calls. Formal invitations should go out a month in advance. Ask your guests to RSVP 10 days before the event.
Don’t send a guest home drunk! To control liquor consumption, offer a limited selection of drinks, such as wine and beer and perhaps a specialty drink like frozen margaritas.
Offer lots of non-alcoholic choices, such as flavored mineral waters. And if guests get carried away, take away their car keys and drive them home.
Also ask your homeowner’s insurance company if it offers a one-day special-event extension, or raise your liability limits.
Clean the house or have it cleaned the day before.
If you have light-colored carpets and furniture and worry about someone spilling something, don’t serve staining food or liquid such as chocolate, dark colas or cranberry juice.
Greet your guests at the front door and walk them to the door when they leave and perhaps accompany them to their cars. It makes them feel special.
As the host, don’t spend too much time talking to any one person. Mingle and enjoy everyone.
Select background music that your guests will enjoy, but don’t play it so loud they can’t converse, unless it’s a dance party.
And finally, to drop hints that the party is over, close the bar, bring out coffee, clean up the plates and, if you have to, guide them out the door.
xxxx MORE TIPS ON ORGANIZING A GATHERING Here are other holiday party tips from professional organizer Myrna Pair, owner of Organize It, a Seattle-based company: For planning purposes, use a three-ring notebook to keep all information together in one place. It also makes it easier to rearrange pages or add additional paper. Define your minimum and maximum reasonable overall budget limit and do not go over your reasonable budget maximum. Remember that directions to the location may be needed, so include a map inside the invitation. Large toy stores offer decorations that may be suitable for your needs and cost less than at other stores. Appoint one or several people to assist with entertaining the children. More tips are available from Organize It for $2. For more information, call (206) 670-0183.
Nina Culver