Top Tips for Families Thinking of Hosting a Party at Their Home

Hosting a party at your home can require lots of planning and preparation as you strive to make your event a success. Here are some suggestions that can help you throw an amazing party every time.

Giving Yourself Some Time

When you are making plans for your event, it is imperative that you determine how much time you will want the party to last. The last thing you want is to simply throw an event and have it go on indefinitely, as that can lead to a ton of stress. Set a start and an end time and make sure that your guests are aware of the time frame as well, so there are no misunderstandings once you begin to wrap things up. According to Fabulous Hostess, a good time frame for most gatherings is typically around three hours, depending on the type of party you are having. Make sure you should consider this whenever you determine a starting time.

Location, Location, Location

The best part of your home to host your party at will depend on the type of event you are having and how much space it requires. If you are having a birthday party for your child, then having the event outside might be best since there will be plenty of room for the kids to run around and play. According to Keystone Custom Decks, an outdoor area can be a great location for hosting parties. You can have them customized to have sofas, chairs, and more. This is particularly useful if your indoor area isn’t wide enough, or comfortable enough for hosting. With a deck, you can have a nice area for the parents to relax and mingle while the kids run around and play on the grass.

Getting Prepared

Before your party, it is important that you give your home a good cleaning and once over as you want it to look its best when having guests come over. Make sure that your bathroom is cleaned really well and stocked with plenty of toilet tissue, soap, and paper towels. At the same time, since you will be hosting a large number of people, especially if they are children, make sure you don’t have any breakable items out on end tables or within reach of little ones. Regardless of whether you are hosting an adult event or having a children’s party, you want your home to make a good impression so make sure it looks good and smells nice as well.

Clean Your Windows

Whether you are hosting your event outside on the patio or you are having a dinner party in your dining room, your guests will either be seated within view of a window or will be entering and exiting your sliding doors. As your guests have to pass through the glass doors, they should not see a number of smudges, dust, et cetera all over your glass. One thing that happens when you live in your home is that you tend to overlook certain aspects of it because you see them every day. However, your guests will notice everything, so be mindful of what may catch their eye.

Plan Your Menu Early

It doesn’t matter if you are hosting a wine tasting with different cheeses or a clown-themed birthday party, plan your menu early, so you can make any necessary adjustments in time. When it comes to feeding large groups of people, if you wait until the last minute to decide on what to serve, you may run into problems with having enough food. While certain events such as kids’ themed parties may not require much more than some hot dogs and a pizza, if you are wanting to host a dinner party then the earlier you come up with your menu, the better.

Choose Your Flatware Carefully

Not every event will call for you to bring out fine China, but on the other hand, every casual party doesn’t have to have plastic cutlery and paper plates either. Depending on what type of party you are hosting, you can meet somewhere in the middle by having plates and utensils that are disposable yet are durable and attractive as well. According to Posh Party Supplies, this can help alleviate some of the post-party clean-up stress. Paper plates that are a little pricier than most can be well worth it as they not only look much better, but they are much stronger so you don’t have to worry about spills or food seeping through the plate and onto your guests’ laps.

Get Assistance

Trying to plan and host a party can be a very exhausting task that can leave you so spent that you barely enjoy the party at all. One way to ease the burden significantly is to have someone help you with the preparations as well as with hosting the event. If you are hosting a child’s party then you should definitely have someone assist you as it will be pretty difficult to keep track of so many different children. Make sure there is enough seating for every child in order to prevent running around and help to make monitoring them that much easier.

Common Problems

One of the major drawbacks of hosting an event at your home is that you will be responsible for the cleanup afterward. If you are having children over, then you can get them involved in the cleanup process by sort of making a game of it. Also, if you clean throughout the event, picking up cups here or there, you will find that there is much less to deal with at the end of the event.

Throwing a party can be lots of work but it can be very rewarding as well. Being able to put together an event that brings joy to the people you care about can be a really good feeling. Just make sure you are planning well in advance, giving proper thought to how long the event will last, who you are inviting, and so on and so forth. Enlist the help of a friend or two so that you don’t get overwhelmed, and you can enjoy the event along with your guests.

Here are some more great party-planning tips: A Step-Dad’s Guide to Their Teen Daughter’s Sweet 16