6 Great Holiday Party Planning Ideas for You
Posted: Sunday, September 06, 2009
by George Faulkner
Holiday party planning need not be a daunting task. In fact, you can consider it the perfect time to unleash your creativity-especially if you decide to have fun with the whole part planning process. Sure, planning a holiday party is bound to have its stressful moments, since you're also the one who's in charge of logistics-but think about the joy that you'd be bringing to your officemates, family members, or friends. In the end, once you throw an amazing holiday party, all the hard work you suffered will be well worth it.
To make your holiday party planning even easier for you, we're going to throw you six ideas for your pending holiday party! So start reading to get your creative juices flowing.
Holiday Party Idea #1: Modify the Traditional Holiday Party
Yes. The idea behind this tip has been out there since this article's second paragraph, but let us expound on what we mean by "tweaking" traditions. You don't have to completely disregard traditions when planning your party, after all, holiday parties are rooted in tradition. But you can give your party a modern twist or a slightly different theme.
For example, instead of having your regular Christmas party where some people show up dressed like Santa, why not have a Scrooge-inspired holiday party instead? In this party, people don't have to spend a small fortune buying their gifts for each other. Gift-giving is still present, but why not ask your party guests to make or even bake their own gifts?
Or instead of throwing a Halloween party where partygoers show up in their most ghoulish costumes, why not have an Old Tinseltown-inspired holiday celebration? Instead of scaring people with their elaborate costumes, ask your guests to imbibe the spirit of Old Hollywood by coming to the party dressed like their favorite Hollywood superstars like James Dean, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire, and Charlie Chaplin.
You get the idea.
Holiday Party Idea#2: Prep for the Party Way in Advance
There's one effective way to block stress when planning a holiday party, and that's to prepare everything you need in advance. Anything you can do weeks before the event, you should finish before the big night. This will save you from unnecessary stress.
For example, if you can start working on the party decorations today, why put it off for another day? Even if it's just the simple things like cutting up crepe paper, preparing your Christmas tree, or even just placing an order for your plastic utensils-these are all things that you can do well before your party. By ticking off things listed in your holiday party planning checklist, you minimize the risk of throwing a disastrous holiday party.
Holiday Party Idea #3: Send Out Your Invites Weeks Before the PartyEspecially if You're Asking for RSVP.
If you're throwing a holiday party that requires preparation from your guests, whether it's simply procuring a costume or preparing their potluck dishes, then it's basic courtesy that you give them your invitations at least two weeks before the actual party.
This also gives your guests time to map out their schedules and tell you whether or not they'd be able to make it to your holiday celebration.
The week before the party, start calling your guests to confirm their attendance. This should give you a pretty accurate headcount.
Holiday Party Idea #4: Start your Grocery Shopping a Couple of Days before the Party.
Having your ingredients in your fridge and ready for cooking is a great way to save time. If you want, the night before the party, you can even pre-prepare some food and drinks-provided they won't spoil by the eve of your celebration.
By having your ingredients ready a day before the get-together, you can even devote the entire day of the party to cooking and creating succulent meals and snacks for your guests.
Holiday Party Idea #5: Ask Some Friends to Help Out Hours Before the Party.
Let's face it. You won't be able to finish everything you need to do for the party without a little help. By calling on your closest buds, you can get everything done faster. If you're lucky, you can even have a few hours of quiet time to relax before the celebration starts.
Holiday Party Idea #6: Get Your Guests to Bring You Wine as Host Gifts
Most partygoers are polite enough to give gifts to the host during the party. Some bring actual tokens and mementos, while others give you goodie baskets of cookies and cake. By asking your guests to bring wine to your party, you won't have to buy too many bottles of booze.
You can ask your guests to bring a bottle of their favorite liquor. That way, you also avoid buying wine that some of your guests may not like.
With all that said, here's to hoping you'll throw one heck of a holiday party! Remember, don't let stress get you down. Have fun planning your perfect holiday celebration!
George Faulkner is an avid author and keen party planner amongst other hobbies.
He runs and maintains his website http://www.epartyplanningsite.com which has lots of information freely available to browse on party planning and a mini course available to sign up for at no charge.
For all your party planning information before planning your event or party then visit the website.
For information on planning a party visit http://www.epartyplanningsite.com/holiday-party-planning/
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