The end of the year often means get-togethers with extended family to celebrate. As a result, you may find yourself hosting one or more parties within the next few months. If so, how can you ensure that the event you host runs well? Check out these five tips for hosting the perfect family holiday party this season.
1) Invite Your Family With Advance Notice
To make sure your family knows that you are hosting a holiday party, invitations are critical. Otherwise, they may make other arrangements, or plan a similar party on the same day. For your invitations, it is best to have a confirmation feature. This way, you know who will be in attendance.
Also, give your guests the option to note any dietary restrictions. Remember to include an “RSVP” by date so you can meet all necessary accommodations. By coordinating with family ahead of time, it will help build momentum for your party. It will also ensure that all calendars are marked appropriately.
2) Accommodate for All Ages
One of the biggest challenges of coordinating a family party is planning for a variety of ages. The age range of your guests can affect several key decisions. For example, it can determine whether you will have alcohol at the party, and how to serve it. Also, it can affect meal decisions. This is because children have different eating habits than adults. Therefore, it is important to bring on a San Diego holiday party caterer with menus that appeal to all your guests.
If you are planning to have games, you will want to ensure that they are family-friendly. Or, consider having holiday-themed music in the background for guests to dance to. If you want to plan something more structured, plan to play limbo or freeze dance. To encourage guests to get involved, give prizes for winners. Prizes are a great way to get guests of all ages excited to take part.
3) Be Flexible About Your Family Holiday Party
It can be easy to want things to go a certain way when planning a party. This can mean wanting everyone to take part in an activity or stick to a time schedule. Yet, as mentioned above, family parties often include people of many ages. As a result, it is likely that your family will want different activities, geared towards their specific interests.
To accommodate, it is best to keep most activities unstructured. This will allow you, as the party host, to enjoy things at your leisure without feeling like a cruise director. For example, consider having tables set up ahead of time. These could be loaded with coloring books, or take-home crafts for the kids. Tables can also have games for small groups to play together. This will allow your guests to interact and spend time with each other. Some guests may decide they prefer to sit around and be social. But children will likely need activities so they stay busy and engaged.
4) Ensure There Is Room For Everyone
With all of these activities, you will need to have plenty of space. This is why a proper guest count is so important. It will help you figure out whether you should hold your function at home, or at a holiday party venue, for example. By ensuring you have plenty of space, everyone will be able to get along and enjoy all of the holiday festivities.
If space is a limitation, or you have an especially social group, you may decide not to have a seated meal. Instead, you may want to set up appetizer stations. This will allow people to eat as they please while they mingle.
5) Eliminate Stress At Your Family Holiday Party
Even without planning a holiday party, the holidays can be overwhelming at times! If you do intend to host a party, allow plenty of time to prepare. It is ideal to keep a checklist to make sure you take account for all aspects of your party. This will ensure you budget your time to avoid last minute preparations. To reduce some of the stress, it can help to co-host or to use professional event services that your caterer recommends or provides directly.
Regardless of all preparations, the hours leading up to party can be the most hectic. This is because hosts want to please their guests. They feel the need to ensure everything is running well. As a result, they may spend most of the party time multi-tasking. This can lead to you being your feet the entire time, without a moment to rest.
Ultimately, it is crucial that you enjoy the party as well. Managing your stress level as a host is important, as it can easily affect party guests. For example, your family members may not be able to enjoy themselves if they see you are solving problems and running from room to room. But, if they see you relaxing and socializing, they will be more likely to follow suit.
When planning your party, make decisions that enable you to take a step back, and to enjoy the family bonding. For example, consider opting for a catering company that provides a wait staff for your party. This will offload much of the work, giving you the opportunity to mix and mingle!
