It is now the first week of December which means that it’s officially time to get into holiday mode.  I don’t know about you, but the month of December is always full of different gatherings and parties for me, and I usually end up hosting one as well.  There is a lot of thought and planning that goes into hosting a holiday party, which is why I've created a guide to help you in your holiday party endeavors.

The Guest List

Creating the guest list for a party is VERY important.  Of course, you are going to want to invite your closest friends.  But do you mind letting them bring a plus one?  If you decide to let them, you should assume that about half of the invitees will bring someone with them.  A hostess should also consider how well the guests will all mingle together.  Will your work friends get along with your personal friends?  Do you even want to mix your different groups of friends?  These are both very important questions to consider.

Here's a cute template to keep track of who's coming and who's bringing what:


Invitations

After creating the guest list, the next task is to send out invites.  You need to decide if you want to send out a virtual invite, or do it the old-fashioned way and use paper invitations.

If you do decide to use virtual invites, you can use evite, Paperless Post, Punchbowl, or just Facebook.  If I were hosting a party, I would probably use paper invites, just because I feel like they are more personal and won't get lost in your inbox.  They are, however, more expensive.

I think choosing the right style of invitation is important because it somewhat sets the tone for what kind of party you are having.  For example, if you are hosting a semi-formal soirée, you would probably want to use something simple, yet elegant (gold, silver, cursive...), and if you are hosting a baking party & movie night, you could get away with fun and colorful invites.

Here are some of my favorites:


Whenever I host a party, it always seems that figuring out what food to buy/make is the most stressful part of the whole thing.  If you are having a party in the evening, you will definitely need to have quite a few different appetizers.  It's always good to have a fruit & veggie plate, as well as some sort of cheese & cracker plate.

I usually make the BBQ meatballs for every party I host/attend, and they're always a hit! I use the party meatballs & BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's

Here are some other fun & festive options:





Merry & Bright