There are 92 days until the new decade, how many celebrations will you host? It feels like once we hit October 1, we are in high gear for the holidays and there is little time to breathe between now and New Years Eve. It doesn’t help that the stores already have Christmas decorations up! Can we get through Halloween before we see Christmas trees? Please? But starting now, there are so many end of year celebrations to either host or to attend. Don’t start to panic yet! I’m here to help you with some holiday hosting survival tips!
Let’s take a look at what is ahead…
30 days until Halloween
Let’s cover the important questions here…
1. Are you hosting a Halloween party?
- Have you invited your guests?
- Yes? Then you are in good shape.
- No? Get that invite out by tomorrow. Send a text, evite or create a Facebook event so that people can plan. People need time, even if they wait until the last minute to RSVP, you need to let them know you are having a party.
2. What is your Halloween party theme?
I love throwing Halloween parties. For years, I had an annual party and each year it was a different theme. Some of the best themes were: Hollywood Nights, people came dressed as someone famous, Cartoons of our Generation, I had the Scooby Gang there, Strawberry Shortcake and some smurfs. A dinner party I hosted was Edgar Allen Poe themed. There is an unlimited number of possibilities for a themed Halloween party. Have fun and play it up!
If you’re going to host a dinner party, but not sure how much food to serve, click here to get your How Much Food To Serve Chart.
3. Do you have your costume?
If you have a theme in mind look for something related to that. Now is the time to start looking. Especially if you have something specific in mind. I have been at the party store just days before Halloween and costumes are sold out in many sizes, the place is in complete shambles and the store is crowded with stressed out people trying to find the perfect costume. Shop now and eliminate that stress.
3 Immediate Halloween Hosting Survival Tips:
1. Select your theme
2. Get your invitations out immediately
3. Start looking for your costume now
Don’t worry about the candy. now. There will be plenty available throughout the month!
58 Days Until Thanksgiving
Yes, 58 seems like a ways away, but life happens and suddenly it’s the middle of November! We are running around thinking about Christmas gifts, visiting Santa, sending out Christmas cards, Black Friday and all that other craziness but we need to stop and focus on the turkey!
Let’s face it, Thanksgiving is an awesome holiday that has no stress of gifts, finding a costume or preparing for the biggest party of the year. It’s a great holiday to relax, visit with family and friends, watch or play football and enjoy a meal that took hours to make, but is usually devoured in less than 30 minutes.
How do you survive hosting Thanksgiving?
Plan ahead!
As I said Thanksgiving is really about the food, so you want to make sure you have all your traditions on the menu. You don’t want Aunt Mabel upset that her favorite niece forgot the corn pudding! Start thinking about the menu items that need to be on the table and make a list. Keep that list handy so you can add to it as you think of more ideas.
3 Immediate Thanksgiving Hosting Survival Tips:
1. Start making the guest list
2. Make a list of the menu items, start a grocery list and pick up non perishable items when they are on sale. Plan out how far in advance you will buy your turkey. Set a reminder now on your phone for that date.
3. If you are buying the pies from a bakery, mark it in your calendar to order the pies 10 days before Thanksgiving. And make sure to set time aside to pick up the pies. At that time of year, you can be waiting just to get into the parking lot let alone get the pie.
85 Days Until Christmas
While the Advent calendar doesn’t go this high, you can get a head start on Christmas with some simple survival tips to prepare yourself. Whether you’re hosting Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, there are some main ideas to think about and you can start to prepare now.
3 Immediate Christmas Hosting Survival Tips:
1. As you did with Thanksgiving, make your guest list and start thinking about the menu
2. Decide if you are buying gifts for your guests. If so, make a list of who you need to shop for and some ideas for each person. Watch for sales or if you are a Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday shopper have your list prepared before that shopping weekend.
3. If you are creating your own tablescape for the centerpiece, start shopping for Christmas decorations at the craft stores. They always have great deals and this gives you enough time to get some of the bigger items at 40% off with weekly coupons.
92 Days Until 2020!
WOW! Can you believe it? We are entering into a new decade! That just seems mind blowing to me right now!!! How are you going to ring in the new year/new decade? I feel like for most of my life, I was lead to believe that NYE was the biggest and best party of the year. Or it should be.
Well, I never experienced some HUGE blowout of a party that rocked my world. So for years it felt as though I wasn’t finding the right way to celebrate. Then I looked at my favorite NYE and realized my favorite memories were small parties with my friends and/or family. Some of these included: a big group dinner out to an Italian restaurant where we ate family style and shared out goals for the following year, a small dinner party at the house, a local dive bar where our friends’ band was playing and they had CHEAP champagne on all the tables and finally hanging out at a house playing games. I realized I didn’t want to be at some HUGE party with tons of people crammed into one place. BUT maybe that’s for you! While NYE is 3 months away, you can start thinking ahead to plan accordingly.
3 New Years Eve Survival Tips:
1. Decide how you want to celebrate – go out or host?
2. Decide who you want to ring in the new year with this year
3. If going out for the evening, start thinking of where to go, when to make reservations, if you need to book a hotel and/or car service and if you need a babysitter. Places book up quick so make sure you know where you want to go and who is joining you so when the place opens for reservations you can save your spot.
I know this seems like a lot, especially for October1, but if you plan and prepare yourself, you will have a lot less stress when the holidays are just 10, 5 and 1 day away! Keep a notebook handy and jot down any ideas you have to help you survive the holidays this year. The three holiday survival tips for each upcoming holiday should give you a good start to the planning process. You can get through these holidays and parties with ease.
Need some more help planning for your party? Check out these articles to help you
How to Plan a Party Part 1: The Why & Selecting a Theme
Planning Your Party Location, Guest List and Invitations
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