If you are wondering how to host a stress-free holiday party for friends and family, I hope that our experience (and my tips!) will be an inspiration as you plan your next holiday gathering.
From inspiration to planning
Our son walked in on my husband and I talking and asked, “When are we having a Christmas party, like the ones we used to have?” My husband and I looked at each other and knew we were long overdue. And so began the party preparations.
The list kept getting bigger and bigger. We wanted to invite all our friends and family and became surprisingly aware of how blessed we were to have so many. The total number of people on our list was 130. WOW! Our plans began the weekend before Thanksgiving, so invitations went out on the Sunday prior. To add to the madness, my parents were planning their 50th Wedding anniversary in Florida which meant we were all heading south the first week in December and returning to host our own party on the 11th. It wasn’t much time, but I knew we could pull it off. And we did so beautifully!
Tips for Hosting a Stress-Free Holiday Party
Make party planning stress-free with lists
The key to a good party is lists. As I’ve mentioned before, for me everything I do needs to be on a list or the multitude of tasks become overwhelming. But if you prepare and give yourself plenty of time, anything is possible. I knew this party would be different, just because of the numbers attending. So I talked to my friend that is an amazing caterer. Together we were able to come up with the menu and the quantities, so there would be no waste. I wanted to be in charge of the main expense, which was the meat and fish. She added three different salads and a lasagna. I planned to serve a beautiful tray with cheeses and crackers, sushi, and my favorite empanadas.
As you might imagine, the day of the party was wild and crazy. Even though lots had been done at that point, I now needed to pull it all together. With all hands on deck, we worked like a Swiss clock. Having said all of that, I did make time for hair and nails. So off we went, my Mom and I, while my husband picked up the food and my oldest took care of the bar and odds and ends. It really brought the family together.
Ask for help!
One of the greatest things that I did was to hire three helpers. This allowed me to focus on the party and our guests, and not to be stressed serving and cleaning during the party. It worked perfectly! They took care of everything and cleaned up too.
Enjoy your holiday party
Because of the organized approach to our gathering (and asking for help!), I was able to enjoy our holiday party!
The flowers looked beautiful and were in every room of the house. The candles shimmered. The total headcount was 93 and that included some of my boys’ friends. It just wouldn’t be a Christmas party without their friends. I wore my mother’s blouse made from leftover fabric from her wedding gown (she was so proud and it fit). Everyone complimented me on its vintage look which is always a nice feeling when you are hosting. The food was beautifully presented and bountiful. The wine poured freely and the people just mingled with each other. There was true Christmas magic in the air. Oh… and it snowed too! My husband and I agree – even though it was difficult to speak with each and every one at the party – that we are blessed for having incredible friends from different stages in our lives and we feel the love just by having them with us. The sole purpose of the party was to show them how grateful we are to have them in our lives and to just say thank you for being our friends.
Whew! What a whirlwind!
Thanks to planning the stress-free party ended wonderfully, the clean up was easy and there was no disaster the next day. There were plenty of leftovers, even after some went home with our guests. Our tree, which started off empty underneath, looked like Santa had visited our home by the end of the night.
This stress-free holiday party was a magical moment for my family to simply say “we love having you as our friend”. This was truly a stress-free Christmas gathering and, hopefully, it won’t be another 5+ years before we host the next celebration.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. I wish you peace and love.
P.S. If you haven’t already, please sign up for my monthly email newsletter where I share a behind the scenes look at how I’m working things out in life and in my garden. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.