5 tips to Stress Free Christmas Parties

It is hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Christmas is the time of the year to go all out as far as parties go.

Photo: Magnus Frankin

Some people love the idea of a house full of guests. Others prefer a small intimate gathering.

Here are 5 tips to help you host a party that suits YOU!

1. Stress free party planing

The key to a great stress free party is planing. For some people the mere idea of hosting a party will see them having panic attacks. The more thought you put into it and schedule the various aspects of Christmas planning, the calmer you will be. Remember, you are to enjoy the party too.

2. How many?

Decide where and how many guests you are comfortable about handling. Consider seating and adverse weather possibility.

3. Set a theme

Do you want to stick to the traditional red and green? Maybe you want to splash out and go for something modern like silver and purple or maybe silver and blue is more your colouring. What about going for a rustic or country theme? The ideas don't stop here. Google Images and Pinterest are great sources of inspiration.

Once you have your venue and theme set then you can start to do some shopping (or crafting) to tie it all together. Of course the boring fact is that most of us have a budget that we need to stick to. So before you head off to the shops, take a good look at your decorations and other stuff around the house and see if you can incorporate any of it into your theme. You can up cycle and recycle things around the house or from the op shops to fit in and still keep within your budget.  A can of paint, some paper and glue can transform many items to fit within your theme and your budget. Make a list of what you need and keep the list in your bag so you'll know what you still need to purchase.

4. Party Food or Menu

Party Drinks photo by 6S

No celebration is complete without food. Christmas party food was covered rather extensively on this post just a few days ago. So to put it in a nutshell.

1. Decide your main course. 
2. Add accompaniments; salads, vegetables or other. 
3. Have food in reserve as a back up for unexpected or extra hungry guests - maybe they just love your food and want extras. Think of it as a compliment.
4. Are you planing to serve nibbles and/or appetizers?
5. Christmas drinks: a variety of nonalcoholic drinks is a good starting point.

 Consider spreading the load and cost by asking your guest to bring a plate and/or drinks.

5. Entertainment

Outdoor Twister photo credit

You don't always need to provide entertainment as such, maybe some quiet music in the background will suffice whilst people mingle and chat. Sometimes the theme will set the entertainment for the party.  Other times the party can be enliven with a couple of planned activities. If it is an outdoor party you might do a game of Boule or French Cricket or Outdoor Twister.

Charades are always popular especially if you make it a set subject range such as recent movies or popular singers.

One game we fall back on as a group is a large version of Pictionary using a Artist A frame to hold a large drawing pad/whiteboard.

Want more suggestions?

There are more ideas to be found via Leslie's blog Lamberts Lately.