5 Party-Planning Tips For Hosting A Healthy Holiday Party At Home  

Every time the holiday season rolls around, you can usually find a couple of party invitations in your mailbox. Sometimes, however, the roles get reversed; you’re the host instead of the guest, and that could be an unfamiliar situation for you.

Don’t panic when you’ve been asked to fill in the shoes of the party host. You can follow these five party-planning tips to help you host your next – or first – healthy holiday party at home:

1. Take enough time to brainstorm

Snapshots of the party planning process would mostly be you just sitting in front of your computer. You have to take enough time to figure out your plans for all the major elements of a party, which are:

2. Theme

Having a theme for your party will make it easier for you to outline plans for the remaining elements. You’d think that choosing a theme is easy when you’re throwing a party for a specific holiday. However, you have the chance to make your holiday party unique by choosing a fun sub-theme, such as ‘Naughty Claus’ for a Christmas party. Refer to this article to see how you can turn a family-friendly holiday into an adults-only affair.

3. Guests

Plan how many and which people you want to invite.  Take your living space into account by checking if it can fit the number of people you have in mind. Also, since a party is mainly for the guests’ enjoyment, consider their needs and preferences.

4. Food and drinks

This element can dictate whether a party is good or not, so it’s essential that you plan this aspect out properly by asking yourself the following questions:

• Will you cook the food yourself? If so, what recipes will you be using?
• How much will you need?
• Do your guests have allergies?
• How will you maintain the dishes’ respective temperatures?

You might also want to keep things healthy for your guests by doing any of the following tricks:

• Use smaller and skinnier dishes to manage serving sizes.
• Serve low-calorie foods first.
• Create a mingling space that doesn’t have access to food, so your guests won’t find themselves mindlessly eating all the time

5. Other details

Don’t forget the other features of party planning, which include:

• Decorations
• Budget
• Other resources
• Contingency and emergency plans
• Clean-ups

6. Set expectations

As early as possible, inform your guests about the type of party that you’re throwing so they can prepare accordingly. This applies to how much food they can eat at the party, what they’ll wear, and what gifts they should bring, if any.

The best way to set expectations is by sending out invitations which you should do at least a month before the day of the party. Be sure to include the following in your invitation:

• Location
• Date and time
• Attire
• Things to bring (if any)
• Other reminders

7. Be realistic

If you’re someone who can stick to a to-do list and get things done on time, then that’s great. On the other hand, if you’re someone who tends to wing it when the time comes, then that’s still alright. The point is, you should plan your tasks and schedule according to your availability and capabilities. After all, no one will start a witch hunt if you admit that you can’t do everything yourself, so don’t stress out if you need to ask for help.

8. Be practical

Just because you can buy new things like decor and ingredients doesn’t mean that you should. You can always re-purpose the decorations that you already have. To ensure that you can do this, try to avoid buying decor that’s too specific to just one holiday. For instance, it’s a good idea to buy things in solid colors like browns and reds, instead of in specific patterns.

This tip also applies to food. If you want, you can take a look at your pantry to know what ingredients you already have, and then build your menu from there. This would save you the trouble of having to search for new recipes and go shopping for unfamiliar ingredients.

9. Enjoy yourself

As the host, you’ll constantly be under a lot of pressure since you’re responsible for giving your guests a good time. Although that’s the case, don’t forget to have fun during the party itself. It will help your case a lot if you loosen the reigns a little bit and accept the fact that not everything can be perfect. Focus on what really matters, which is that you’re with people you love and all of you are there to celebrate and enjoy everyone’s companies.

Hosting a healthy holiday party is no easy feat, especially if it’s the first time such a task has landed on your plate. However, as long as you follow these tips and try to keep a cool, clear head from day one up until the minute before you open the doors for your guests, you’ll surely be fine.

What are your favorite tips for hosting a healthy holiday party?

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