Six Party Planning Hacks to Host the Merriest Holiday Soiree

 

Holiday season is in full swing, and that means parties, gift exchanges, dinners, family functions and more events than you know what to wear to. Between all the gift shopping and outfit planning, you likely don’t have much time for prepping and decorating your place for these get-togethers. And no one likes to go to a holiday party where there isn’t at least one festive wreath hung. 

 

With a month between Thanksgiving and Christmas followed by only a week hiatus until New Year’s, you may think it’s impossible to keep your decorations up to speed. This time around, instead of stressing, follow these simple and easy holiday hosting hacks to pull off a beautiful holiday party while your friends wonder how you pulled it off and still have so much holiday spirit.

 

Christmas lights always add a magical touch to the outside of the house. Bring some of that magic inside of your home as well for the perfect holiday party. Take one of your many leftover wine bottles (happy holidays to you!), remove the label and drill a small hole towards the bottom using a diamond bit. Then, thread some short LED lights through the hole, leaving the battery pack outside. Ta da! Easy indoor light décor for perfect holiday mood lighting. 

 

Everyone loves to post pictures on social media, especially when family members are getting together for the holidays. The next time you find yourself scrolling through Instagram, pick one of your favorite pictures from a family member’s or friend’s account and use it as the front cover of your holiday card. Print the image on canvas paper and sew on copy paper to the back. Type or hand-write a warm note and you have a personalized card with minimal effort for heartfelt holiday cheer. 

 

Party planning can get expensive, between the food and drinks, decorations and special touches – not to mention the holiday gifts. To lessen the holiday hit on your pockets, try using a cash back site such as Splender to buy supplies. You’re already buying Christmas lights, serving bowls, paper plates and plastic champagne flutes for the party (not to mention all those bottles of wine) – why not earn some money for buying these things? By using an online cash back shopping site, you can earn a percentage of every eligible purchase as well as find special deals and discounts on your party supplies. Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, online cash back sites make it so that you never have to worry about digging too deep in your pockets. 

 

One thing that everyone must prepare for every holiday is the leftovers. There’s always an abundance of turkey, casseroles, pie, cookies and more left over after a big dinner party. Instead of trying to match plastic containers with the right lids (why don’t they ever match up?), use empty aluminum foil packages. That’s right – you can reuse them as gift boxes. The size and shape of a typical aluminum foil or Saran Wrap box is ideal for holding small baked goods. By removing the empty roll and metal strip, lining it with wax paper and taking some paint and glitter to the outside, you will have a homemade – and inexpensive – gift box for your tasty treats! 

 

So your holiday shindig was a success. But now everyone’s gone home and you’re left to clean up the spilled eggnog (looking at you, Grandma…) and ripped wrapping paper. Make it easier for yourself by lining your trash can with multiple garbage bags before the party starts. Once it fills up, all you have to do is toss it out and go right back to being the life of the party. 

 

But what about all those ornaments you placed around the house to decorate? Here’s an easy trick: take advantage of the leftover red Solo cups that have been taking up storage space since the family cookout this summer. Use them to separate your large ornaments before you put them away in storage bins. For your smaller ornaments, use egg cartons to help organize them. This way there will be less hassle when it’s time to decorate the tree next year. 

 

The holidays are for gathering together and enjoying the love that surrounds you, your friends and your family. Let your decorations reflect the joy this season brings each and every year. Party planning doesn’t have to be a hassle if you follow these simple hacks to be the hostess with the mostess.