Dial up fun factor for holiday parties

It’s that season for making party rounds and opening up homes to friends and family. Maybe it’s your turn to play host or hostess and you’re not sure where to start or how to set your party apart from the others. More importantly, you want to ensure guests have a good time.

Even if you’ve waited until the last minute for party planning, you can still host a memorable and fun event. Here are a few ideas how.

•Secret Santa gift exchange: Part of the enjoyment of the holidays is exchanging gifts with others. Instruct guests to bring along an inexpensive gift. You can set the price limit at $10 to $15. Place all of the gifts in a big red bag and play Santa, handing out a gift to everyone who attended.

• Play games: Scour the game aisle of your favorite store for board or action games that would work well in large groups. Or, modify baby or bridal shower games to fit a holiday theme. Door prize games, or “Pin the Red Nose on Rudolph” are silly ideas that can add up to fun, especially when the cocktails are flowing.

•Create the mood with lights and music: Christmas and New Year’s are celebrated in most areas during the darkest days of winter. So shed light on your festivities with plenty of twinkling lights and votive candles. Create a holiday playlist on your MP3 player and make sure the tunes continue all night long.

•Involve guests in decorating: Short on time? Gather up supplies for decorating and advertise that you’re having a tree-trimming or house-trimming party on your invitations. Allow guests to get crafty and be involved in dressing up your home.

•Don’t fret about food: You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to host a winning party. If food isn’t your forte, don’t worry about catering the event or looking to pre-packaged appetizers and snacks. As guests mingle and hop from party to party, they’re not going to be looking for an elaborate sit-down dinner. Fresh veggies and dips, bite-sized finger foods and the like are standard party fare. If you want to get creative, take any of your favorite foods and just make them in miniature. Tiny burgers, bite-sized pizzas, and even small peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can delight.

•Cocktail savvy: Stock the bar with the old standards for variety and come up with one signature drink you can make in bulk. Why not try a frosty punch and give it a theme-inspired name, such as “Winter Wonderland”? Be sure to have plenty of non-alcoholic drinks on hand for those designated drivers.

•Dessert bar: Top off the evening with a dessert bar where guests can create and garnish their own desserts. Set out ice cream and fixings, a fondue pot with skewers of fruit, different pies with nuts and whipped cream, or any other combination you can think of.

Try out a couple of these tips for a memorable evening that doesn’t take much planning.