Stress and anxiety always come with having an at home party. Just getting everything ready can drive a person crazy, and worrying about last minute details can be the push right over the edge. Planning and throwing a party doesn't have to be stressful and dreadful. This is a list of tips put together by the pros that will relieve you of all the pre party stress and jitters.
Tip #1 Start off my making two master lists, one for shopping and the other for things that need to be done. Decide how many days that you will need to do the shopping and cleaning. Mark these days on your calendar and don't give in to cutting yourself short on time!
Tip #2 Give your spouse and/or children things to do to help with the cleaning. The job that they do may no be exactly the way you would have done it, but you can do a quick once over the day before the party.
Tip #3 You need to think of a place where your guests can hang their coats and put their purses. If you have a closet by your entry, just clean everything out of it for the day. Put everything from the closet into boxes or find it a new home until after the party.
Tip #4 More than likely there will be food leftover. You need to decide if you want to send them home with your guests. If that is what you are going to do, you should get some styrofoam or some other disposable containers for them to take the food home in. This way you won't have to be rounding up your containers later.
Tip #5 Even if you send the extra food home with your guests, keep enough for yourself so that you don't have to cook the next day or two after the party. That is one plus for an at home party. The day after the party you and your family will be pretty tired out. If you save some of the leftovers, you can reheat the food instead of making more.
Tip #6 After you do your grocery shopping, leave all the non-perishables in the bags and hide them. If you don't, the food will get eaten and you will have to go shopping all over again. Double check what is in your bags the day before the party. You may discover that you have forgotten something or that someone has found your hiding place! Either way, you will have time then to run to the store for last minute things.
Tip #7 If your party is near the Christmas holiday season, you should have a cookie exchange with your friends. This way you only have to make one kind, but you end up with a wide variety.
Tip #8 If your are serving wine it is a good idea to invest in some inexpensive drinking glass charms. This will help your guests keep track of their drink so they don't have to keep getting another glass. You can put the charms on the glasses ahead of time or lay them on the table where the drinks are being served and the guests can pick out their own.
Tip #9 If anyone asks if they can bring anything, don't turn them down! This will lower your overall spending and you will have less food to make. If you are having a theme or want certain foods for your at home party, tell the person what to make. If you don't care what they bring at least give them a category like salads or desserts.
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