Ten Tips for Planning a Great Gathering According to April

Hello everyone! Yes I know its been a while. I love this time of year.  I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! In lieu of the holiday season I thought I would share with you guys some tips on how to be a great host/hostess during the glorious holiday season.  Many of you will be hosting holiday gatherings and sometimes things can get a little crazy but these tips should help things run smoothly.

1. Who? What? Where and Why? Figure out who you’re going to invite.  You absolutely need to have an estimate of how many people will attend the event. What are you having? Is it a dinner party or a cocktail party? Where are you having the party? And why are you throwing this bash? Is it a holiday party or girls night? The reason why you are having the party will play a major role in planning the rest of your party.

2. Choose a theme.  Be creative! Think outside the box and pick a theme that is reflective of who you are or who you are throwing the party for.

Center pieces for a squirrel themed Bar Mitzvah

3. PLAN AHEAD! This is the most important piece of advice I could ever give you.  Plan out your menu. Write down each dish your going to prepare and then underneath the dish write every item you will need for the dish including if you will need a special serving dish or anything.  I also organize my list according to the stores that I can find the various items.  And don’t forget to make lists of things you will need to use for decor.

Jimmy’s 26th Bday Party

4. Keep it simple.  This is not the time to try the most complicated dish you will make in your life. It will be just your luck that it will turn out terrible or stress you out so much that you can’t even enjoy the party.  When it comes to decor, you can never have too many candles, in less of course you are planning a children’s party. Pick a color scheme and execute that throughout the party. No need to spend money on elaborate decor.

5.  Know your go to suppliers. For things like cups, soda and napkins I go to Bjs wholesale.  For produce I head to the local produce market.  For decor items I rely on Ikea, Pier One Imports, Dollar Tree and Target. And I love to buy flowers from whole foods, they are fair trade and gorgeous!  If you’re not sure where to get what, research or just ask somebody!

Sweet Bar at a Bar Mitzvah I planned

 6. Organize your space days ahead.  Don’t wait until the day of to organize furniture etc.  The last thing you want to discover last-minute is you can’t put your fondue machine on the right side of the room because there’s no outlet or your beautiful white table-cloth has a huge juice stain on it.  If you can’t leave the room that way until the party, take pictures of the set up and put your furniture back.

7.  Figure out what food items can be prepared the night before, what can be done the morning of or what can you prep in advance such as slicing fruit for the bar.

The drink station at Jimmy’s Party (this was a house gathering)

8.Clean up your kitchen before your guest arrive and be ready to greet them with a sparkling smile. And don’t forget to get a cute apron to wear when serving your guest.

9. Make sure you create the appropriate ambiance such as selecting the appropriate music play list and the proper lighting.

10.  And most importantly relax and enjoy your guest!