Below, you'll
find extensive information on leading holiday calendar articles and
products to help you on your way to success.
Planning A Spectacular Christmas Party
By John Lenaghan, Sat Dec 10th
Planning a Spectacular Party The holiday season is typically filled with large fancy parties,small intimate gatherings, and extravagant dinner parties.Planning your own party can seem like you’re competingwith hundreds of other festive events during this time, but byadding special touches to every aspect of your party, its sureto be a success. Magical Themes
A great party starts with a great theme. You may be thinkingthat your party theme is a given since it is time. Buttake it one step further and you’ll end up with a fabulousChristmas party that will be the talk of the town. Some themeideas include: - Black tie dinner party - Winter wonderland - Sophisticatedcocktail party - Casual fireside party These party themes are easy to put together and aren’t too farfrom the feel of the season to seem out of place as a Christmasparty. People love to get dolled up around this time and socostume parties may be a little out of place. Each of your partythemes should tie into all aspects of your party including anydecorations, invitations, and even food. Choosing a theme mayseem difficult at first but once you get started on planningyour party it will make the entire process seem easier. Sending out party invitations is a great way to get your guestsexcited about the party. Most people are invited to at leastseveral parties during the holiday season, and invitations canhelp set your party apart. Your invitations don’t need to be tooextravagant to make an impression on the recipients. Just besure to include all pertinent information that your guests willneed to know. Invitations can be sent in a number of ways. While custom madeinvitations certainly will have the most impact on your guests,you don’t want to spend your entire party budget on invitationseither. Making your own invitations might seem like a lot ofwork but it can actually be quite simple. You can downloadinvitation templates from the Internet and create your ownpersonalized invitations that will really wow your guests. Youcan add color pictures to these templates that will look like aprofessional created them. Another invitation option is to send electronic invitations.There are several websites that offer invitations servicescomplete with an online RSVP function that makes it easy tocheck who is coming to the party. You can add festive music andanimation to your invitations. Guests will love getting thesecreative invites in their inbox. Make sure that you contactguests via telephone if they haven’t responded by your RSVPdate. Some people don’t check their email often. Party Decorations Your house is probably already decorated for the Christmasseason with a beautiful tree, garland, and other festiveembellishments. Some people don’t put their trees anddecorations up until later in December, but if you’re having aparty you should have everything up by then. Guests love tocheck out how you’ve decorated your tree and it puts them in aneggnog kind of mood. If you’re having a theme party you may want
to put up a fewextra decorations. For instance, a winter wonderland theme mightinclude some silver snowflakes hanging from the ceiling as wellas sparkles and confetti placed on the tables. This adds alittle bit of magic to your party space and guests will love theextra effort you have gone to. To Dress Up or Not to Dress Up Most people love an excuse to get dressed up in fancy cocktaildress or suit. is the perfect time to have yourfriends get all dolled up for an evening in. However, you shouldtake your friend’s personalities into consideration. Christmasparties don’t necessarily have to mean wearing your nicest partydress; a simple fireside eggnog party is just as fun. If youhave a fireplace, get a roaring fire going before your guestsarrive and hand them a glass of fresh homemade eggnog as theywalk through the door. This is a great way to enjoy some timewith the people you love. If you do decide to have guests dress up for your party, beclear about this on your party invitations. Tell your guestswhether to wear black tie or a cocktail dress so they know whatto arrive in. Make sure your decorations tie into the fancydress theme with low lighting and little clutter. Serve upcocktails in fancy barware to add to the sophisticatedatmosphere. Culinary Delights Serving food at your party is a must. Make sure your party foodgoes along with the theme and the season. Unless you’re having adinner party, entrees aren’t necessary. Simple appetizers thatguests can either eat with their hands or with one utensil arebest. You’ll probably have limited seating so you don’t wantanything too difficult to eat. A fancy cocktail party shouldhave equally fancy appetizers and dips. A casual get togethermight serve veggie plates, hot seafood dips, and chips. Anddon’t forget the cookies at any type of party. You’ll probably want to serve some drinks at your party as well.Eggnog is a traditional drink that is always afavorite. Making your own may take a bit of work but it willtaste divine. Serving up some other festive drinks is a goodidea as well since many people don’t care for eggnog. A fun ideais a peppermint martini complete with a candy cane for garnish.You should also have several non-alcoholic drinks for designateddrivers and those who prefer to stay dry. Your party will be a success if you focus on thelittle details such as invitations that many other partyplanners forgo. Plan your party well in advance and sendinvitations out approximately one month before the date. Thiswill ensure you’ve got plenty of time to plan and guests willreserve the day of your party before all the other impromptuparties start popping up. Spread some cheer andcelebrate the season with those close to you. About the author:John Lenaghan writes about party planning and other tips for theParty Ideas 4uwebsite, where he provides valuable tips and advice about Christmas party ideas, birthday party ideas and other party planning topics.
|
