Hosting A Party? Tips For Keeping The Planning Stress To A Minimum

Hosting A Party? Tips For Keeping The Planning Stress To A Minimum

A dinner party, a house party, a kid’s birthday party – they’re all big events you need to prepare for weeks in advance. And even when the idea to host sounded fun at the time, the actual planning is starting to get to you… 

You’re not alone here; many people have been through the stress of coming up with the perfect party menu, theme, music, and decorations, and some have even crumbled under the pressure. 

But not you! You’ve got some handy tips to hand! If you’re in the middle of putting a party together, and you feel like you’re making no progress at all, our list of stress-busting techniques is waiting just down below for you. 

Make Sure There’s Plenty of Places to Sit Down

Sure, people want to have space to dance and sing karaoke, or for the kids to run around, but they also need places to sit too. And when you’re all crowded into a hall or a house, seats can become few and far between! 

So you’ll want to buy or obtain a couple of extra chairs at least, and make sure they’re easy to access. Put them in a quieter room or around the edges of the main party area, so people don’t have to get in the way of everyone else when they need a little rest. And if you can, pop blankets around too. 

Ask Around About Activities

No, you don’t have to read anyone’s mind and come up with the best entertainment on the fly! You can ask people from the moment you want to host a party. You’ll probably already have some ideas, like music and dancing, karaoke and mixing drinks, etc., but make sure you’ve popped the question out there.

Create a group chat with all the attendees so you can get all of their suggestions in one place. The more wild suggestions might have to be saved, but if someone suggests a fun game or a group activity you only need a few basic items for, put it on the entertainment list. 

For a Low Effort Menu? Make Up a Load of Sharing Plates

You’re going to need a lot of food ready for a party, so this is the very last thing you need to stress about! You don’t want to be cooking for hours on end, worrying about potential food intolerances or digestive issues a guest might have, and that means you need some low-effort menu ideas. 

First off, call around every single attendee and find out if there are any specific dietary requirements. Take the guessing work out and ask straight up. Then make up some sharing plates; follow this crack dip recipe, put together a meat plate and a cheese board, and think about baking a bread tear-and-share basted with tomato, garlic, and other herbs.

Pre Made Themes Look Just as Good

If you think you’ve got a lot of hand-made banners and balloon work coming up, tell yourself right now to relax! You can quickly nip to the store to look around the party section, and you can come away with a lot of silver and gold decorations, plenty of balloons and streamers, and a veritable pile of recyclable plates and cups to use. 

Or if you’re throwing a kid’s party, princesses, pirates, the jungle, or the ocean – these are all pre-made theme items you can find in any supermarket across the country. Similarly, decorations featuring popular cartoons, video games, and Disney characters are a dime a dozen. Hit a few different stores and pick up as many as you can. 

Remember, Perfection Doesn’t Exist

A perfect party is a dream in the back of your mind, but you’ll overwork yourself trying to make it come true. You can throw a very good party without it needing to be perfect and to be quite frank, there is no one sense of perfection here! 

Everyone is going to enjoy a different thing about the event and come away with a different thing to say. As long as they’re saying at least one good thing, that’s all that matters. 

Being a party host is hard, no matter how fun the event turns out to be. You’ve got a lot to take into account, including the drinks, the food, and the mood of the evening; it’s a lot to handle on your own. But with a bit of smart thinking and some coping techniques to use along the way, you’ll have this!

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