Tips For Holiday Entertaining

The holidays, from Memorial Day, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving and on to Christmas, are all events that we celebrate with family and friends. Most holidays have traditions and customs that may include events such as searching for Easter eggs to singing specific songs like Auld Lang Syne at New Year's Eve. There are also traditional decorations for holidays as well as specific meals and even desserts. Holiday entertaining can be stressful and demanding, as well as very costly. In order to keep holiday entertaining as simple and organized as possible there are a few strategies and techniques that can easily be employed. Since each party and holiday will have special items associated with it be prepared to modify and supplement these tips with specifics for the holiday.

Budget : having a reasonable and manageable budget is very important for all holiday entertaining. Avoid simply buying what you think you need and continually returning to the store for things that you have forgot. This is the most costly way to supply a party and will certainly lead to over spending and a large number of unused items. Take the time to plan and write down what you want your decorations, foods, beverages, entertainment and other items to be, and then price the budget accordingly.

Know what you want : understanding what you would like the party to look like is critical. If, for example, you want floral arrangements or specific theme decorations spend a bit of time looking through magazines, online ideas, or even speaking to party planners or caterers to get suggestions on menus and decorations before you make a final decision. Once you have a vision in mind, stick with it unless it proves too costly or difficult to complete. If this is the case consider modifying your idea rather than tossing it all and starting all over, especially if you have already purchased items.

Plan in advance : there are usually several parties and events over the various holidays, so be sure to plan in advance. Planning at the last minute may leave you with very limited choices for foods, decorations or even spaces to host your event. In addition last minute planning can be costly. Usually closer to the holiday only the more expensive items, especially for decorating and food, are left on the store shelves. In addition if you wanted to decorate using a particular item or central focus you may have difficulty finding items to reflect your chosen theme.

Send out invitations early : holidays are frequently busy times for many people. In order to ensure that guests don't end up with conflicts with your party be sure to send out invitations early. This is especially important for events like New Year's Eve, Memorial Day or even Halloween. Send out written invitations at least 3 weeks in advance, and possibly as early as 5 weeks. Be sure that the invitations include both the time, date and place that the party will occur.

Limit your guest lists : one of the biggest mistakes that many people make is to invite too many guests to a party. Not only does this dramatically increase the cost of hosting the party but it can also mean that you need to try to book a bigger space or, in the worse case scenario, guests are overcrowded in your home or facility. Remember on the invitations to indicate if the guest is to bring a date and if children are to attend. It is always awkward if you were anticipating just the adults in the family and the children come as well. To avoid this confusion be clear on the invitation or include the children or dates in your count on the guest list.

Keep the menu and drinks simple : this is especially important if you are doing the cooking and bartending yourself. By keeping the menu simple you can enjoy your guests and have fewer concerns about food and drink preparation. If you do wish to have a formal event try limiting the number of guest to 3-6 people for your first attempt.

Hire help if necessary : for larger groups it often makes much more sense to spend a bit more money and hire a caterer. It is almost impossible to prepare a sit down meal for more than 10-15 people in an average home kitchen, unless guests are bringing side dishes or the party is "pot luck" style. Holiday entertaining is often made much simpler by hiring a professional caterer to help with the food and clean up. You can still work closely with the caterer to make sure the food and beverages are exactly what you want, you just don't have to worry about getting it prepared and served.

Entertaining for the holidays is a wonderful way to bring family and friends together. It is also a time to remember old traditions and start new ones. Holiday entertaining doesn't have to be stressful if you are reasonable with your expectation and planning and start simple and small. ---------------------------------------If you are a business owner get listed at Best Entertaintment Site, part of Localwin Network.