Holiday Party Planning Ideas

Are you ready to party? Holiday party planning can be fun and exciting if you have a game plan. You definitely don’t want to end up spending too much time and money on food and other things that you might not even need. On the other hand you don’t want to end up with not having enough of what you really need, which is even worse, that’s why having a great holiday party planning strategy is helpful. I have planned and organized many holiday parties through the years and over time I’ve been able to come up with some really good party planning ideas which save me time and money, not to mention stress.

As early as you can, start the holiday decorating. I usually start in early November. Sometimes the Halloween decorations come down and the Christmas decorations go up. Getting your decorations set up early is one of the best things you can do when planning a holiday party because you can do it early, take your time and not feel rushed about having other baking, cooking or shopping to do. Once the decorations are up, it’s done and you can move on to the next part of the plan. If you start decorating early enough you can also see if you need to purchase additional lights, holiday wreaths for the door, candles for the buffet table, garland for the stairway or other festive party decorations.

Holiday music is essential to a holiday party. If you use an Mp3 player make sure you make some playlists ahead of time. Split up the music into different playlists like having more upbeat, fun music while guests are arriving and maybe a little mellower holiday music while folks are eating the main meal.

The next step is to sit down and make a list of what type of food you want to serve at the party. Will your party be more of a sit-down traditional type of party? Will it be more casual, buffet-style? Are you having an open-house holiday party where folks will be arriving at different times? These are the types of questions you need to ask yourself and will help you decide what type of party menu and food choices you’ll want to make. In my case, I’ve always had a buffet-style holiday party. For me, it’s the easiest and most enjoyable for everyone and it allows me to make things ahead of time for the most part and allows me time to mingle with guests and enjoy myself at the party as well. I also stick with a more casual menu such as ham sandwiches, potato salad, relish dish with olives, pickles and peppers, macaroni and cheese for the kids and lots of different types of appetizers. I usually cook my own ham and then slice it just before the guests arrive and let them make their own sandwiches with a choice of condiments. Of course the sandwich buns are picked up that day or the day before the party from a specialty bakery. The appetizers change from year to year but I’ve had sushi, pizza rolls, hot chicken wings, chicken tenders, spinach dip, chips and salsa, mini hot dog rolls, pierogi, shrimp cocktail, fried breaded shrimp, and others. I usually have the appetizers out as soon as the guests arrive on a large table in the dining room. This allows people to talk and eat and mingle. As long as I’ve hosted holiday parties this idea has always gone over very well.

If you plan to serve alcoholic beverages at your holiday party, you can make a list of what you want to serve and pick those items up early as well. One more thing you don’t have to worry about later! Pick a couple of holiday drink specialties that you can offer folks who just want a little something for the occasion. Pick a holiday martini recipe and perhaps a creamy type of drink as your main specialties. Then of course you’ll want to have a light beer choice, a few bottles of red and white wine (chilled), and fruit drinks or mocktails for the kids.

Holiday party planning can actually be fun if you start early enough and you have a good to-do list that you can work on a little every day before the party. You will feel so much more relaxed and ready to enjoy yourself if you give yourself enough time to get prepared and your guests will enjoy it too.