Today I had my neighborhood breakfast party, and it was so much fun! My camera died just a few pictures into the event, so unfortunately I won’t be able to show you all of the yummy food that was prepared and completely consumed. (Man, did I ever cut it close on this one. I usually end up with tons of food leftover….which I hate. This time there was only some minor crumbs leftover.)
Some of you seasoned entertainers don’t need my advice on throwing a good party. But I thought some of you might find these tips helpful, so here they are!
1. Set the tone of your party with a cute invitation and a theme. By theme, I don’t necessarily mean a subject matter. For this party the theme was Christmas, comfort food, cozy-warm-and-toasty-by-the-fireplace, and red, white, and green. How is that for a theme :)? I hope my S’mores invite conveyed all of that anyhow. I’m going to sneak in a tip on RSVP’ing here too. I have found that keeping RSVP’s flexible increases party attendance and reduces personal stress. It’s beyond frustrating to plan an event with no idea of who will be attending; however, I have found that people in the age bracket of 30-40 are horrible with RSVP’ing. I think we’re a fickle generation. The best I usually get is “maybe”. Therefore, I have found it easier to just guesstimate and take the attitude of when the food and drink are gone…they’re gone.
2. Don’t be scared to use paper products for large, casual events. They can look adorable and make life so much easier. I am a BIG fan of paper plates and plastic silverware for parties. If you are super thrifty and/or environmentally conscious feel free to wash and reuse your silverware…or just stop reading and skip down to number 3. I had all of these products in my pantry leftover from previous parties, so I didn’t need to buy a thing! The paper plates were found on clearance at Tuesday Morning (also a fantastic place for cheap napkins). I love how they mirror the red and white in the invites. The Santa napkins were $.50 a pack at an after-Christmas Target sale last year. (Shhhh, don’t tell. They are actually paper bathroom towels.) And the silverware was bought in a huge box from Big Lots and cutely displayed in an old dollar store tin bucket that I have had forever. Another quick tip, ribbon dresses up everything and can really make the ordinary look extraordinary.
3. Use unconventional items from around your home to arrange party food. Here I’ve arranged cereals for the kids in a picnic basket. This looks so much more attractive than just lining them up on the counter. Think outside the box when it comes to food display.
4. Take a “mind’s eye walk” through your party. When setting up the room, food and drink, it is important to walk yourself through your party in your mind. Pretend you are a guest trying to maneuver around your set-up. Consider the number of guests you are likely to have and factor in “body space” in your party. Does it make sense to have all of your drinks in the kitchen and the food in the dining room? Will everyone easily be able to access their food and drink? Would it be better to set-up a drink station on your sideboard? Move the food to the kitchen? Do you have enough seating? If you have any sort of program to your party, have you considered how you will transition people from one event to the next? Ooooo, this is IMPORTANT and may seem obvious, but I’ll say it anyhow. In fact, it’s so important it deserves it’s own step.
5. This is your party. Take charge. Even if you don’t have a “program” per se, it is very important that you greet each guest as they arrive, take their coat or tell them where to place their belongings, and then immediately orient them to the party. Take them over to the food and drink, tell them to help themselves, and perhaps even introduce them to someone new and start a conversation. With large gatherings this may be difficult to do as a hostess, but as someone who is shy and introverted in large unknown groups, I sooooo appreciate this step. Your guests will too! I have been to numerous parties where the hosts were so preoccupied, or disorganized that I felt a bit lost. Where do I put my coat? Is it okay if we start eating now? Where are the drinks? When are they ever going to open gifts? If your party has transitions involved, plan ahead as to when you are going to do ________ (cut the cake, play a game, take a house tour, etc.) and be bold and brave in interrupting chatter to let people know it’s time to do ______. Learning how to manage your crowd will make everyone’s time more enjoyable.
6. Do as much prep work and “plating” the day before. I actually used to do much more entertaining when I worked full time. (We had more money and fewer children then.) Preparing days and sometimes weeks in advance was key to not stressing myself out. For this party, I made a cheddar broccoli quiche, sausage egg casserole, and eggnog bread ALL the day before. The casserole was something I could just toss in the oven an hour before the party, but everything else was cooked/baked yesterday. Tip: Quiche reheats perfectly when placed in a 350* oven for 15-20 mins. No one will ever know that it was premade!
Plating everything and having all the appropriate serving spoons available takes much more time than one would think. Have all your serving trays placed out the night before to save yourself time the day of your party.
7. Label your food with cute signs. I have been using this tip for a decade now, and I am not sure I’ll ever give it up. For my food signs, I used the same scrapblog.com sticker that I had previously purchased to make the invites. I think people like to know what they are eating/drinking and it saves you as a hostess from answering questions like, “Is this milk or is it half & half? Is this regular or decaf?” Labeling cutely also goes far in carrying out your theme and inexpensively adding to your decor.
8. Don’t be scared to supplement with some store bought items. You don’t have to stress yourself out trying to make everything from scratch. Supplementing with a few store bought goodies won’t even be noticed by most of your guests. In fact, these cheap donut hole snowmen below that I threw together this morning were the hit of the party. Only two sad little snowpeople were decorated, and I thought they were extremely lame, but people loved them and gobbled them up.
9. Create ambiance. Good lighting, nice music, candles and a clean house go far in setting the mood. My house typically looks “show perfect” for parties. This doesn’t mean everything is perfect. Far from it. Counter clutter is usually stuffed in cupboards, drawers, closets, etc. and I’m okay with this. I find that most people that state they want people to feel comfortable in their “lived-in” house are just making excuses for messy clutter. Clutter at your party doesn’t add to the ambiance and won’t make most people comfortable. Just stash it out of sight for the party.
10. Order up good mood-setting weather. If you’re having an outdoor party, praying for sun is a must. If you’re having a Christmas party, well place an order with the Big Guy for some of this!!! We had a ton of snow today and with mostly everyone within walking distance, it really made for a fun, snowy Christmas breakfast! (Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I have no idea why the chairs from my bistro set are staring at the fence. I guess they got tired of looking at each other. 😉
How about you? Have any party planning tips to share? What do you think goes into making a great party? Talk to me.
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tina says
I totally agree on the plating & utencil finding the day before. I’m very particular about which food goes into which dish, so I lay out my platters and label them with post it notes. That way if any of the guests help with the serving they always get it right!
His girl says
Great ideas! I made the snowmen donut holes for breakfast yesterday- what a hit! Blessings
Holy says
Wow these are really great tips, this will make the party remembered ever by others.Everyone will enjoy and keep waiting for the another party to be thrown from us.
dsi r4
Anonymous says
Please, please, please post your recipe for the eggnog bread! I'm a huuuuuge eggnog fan but have never tried this – yummmmmmm 🙂
Melissa Miller says
This looks so fun! Love the smores idea. Yum!
Merry Christmas to you and yours Beth! ~Melissa 🙂
Anonymous says
Fantastic !!!
I read you all the time Beth…don't always comment….
Great ideas…
I have your chicken recipe that I got from Rhoda I can't wait to try it…
How cute are those donut hole snowmen…bet the kids loved em…
Merry Christmas,
Kathy 🙂
jokaj@comcast.net
greedygrace says
What a great idea for a party! Looks like it was a success!
Adriane says
Hi. Just stopping by from SITS! I like the tips you have mentioned. Great ideas.
Debbie says
What a great party and photos! I particularly love the basket with the cereal in it!
Visiting from SITS.
Dayka says
Love these tips, especially the one about the host/ess greeting the guests. I too, am a smidge shy when it comes to parties where I don't know many of the people, and I've been to ones where you walk in and no one greets you, so you're on your own. Hate that your camera died!
Mommyof2girlz says
What a fabulous idea! Everything looked perfect, might have to steal it for next year 🙂 Stopping in from SITS to welcome you to the group, nice to meet you.
carma says
I am soooooo not the "hostess with the mostest" – great tips!
And welcome to SITS! I know that you will enjoy being a part of this vibrant community of bloggers 🙂
Anonymous says
GREAT post, thanks for all the advice and pics. I saw your other post on the snowmen, fantastic idea!
Funky Junk Interiors says
I stopped entertaining awhile back because at the time my house was in bad need of renos. (it was ugly and embarassing) Now that it's done, there are no more excuses! Problem is, I'm now out of practice. Totally!
So, thanks for these tips I can refer to when I get the nerve once again. 🙂
Donna
Tanya says
Thanks for all the great tips!
My name is PJ. says
If I REALLY want to dot my i's and cross my t's when I'm planning a party…..I'm going to call you!
Have you ever thought of catering? You'd be great at it!!
Jeanette says
What great tips. Your invitation certainly sets the tone of a party.
arkie says
Great guide for giving a party! I'll bet everyone loves your parties!
The snowmen are just so cute! What a great idea!
Carmen says
Really useful advice! I plan on using some of it this Christmas and New Years, as I have guests for both. I especially like the labelling and getting the table, etc. ready earlier in the day. That'll definitely be a time saver for me. Plus…you reminded me to pull out my eggnog bread recipe! It's so good! Thanks!!
Carli@fearfullyandwonderfullymade says
Looks GREAT! Did you post a recipe for the egg nog bread?
Hopeful Housewife says
Looks like a great party! I aspire to be a morning person one day so I can enjoy things like breakfast or brunch parties!
Mandi @ Finding Home says
I literally laughed out loud when I read about your chairs getting tired of looking at one another. Haha, it's still making me smile.
Wonderful tips. Easy to digest and some things I hadn't thought of before. I love the idea of labeling the food. And I really loved your setup for the paper plates and silverware. Such attention to detail in everything. I wish I lived on your street! How fun!!
PJ@nmyfreetime.blogspot.com says
What a wonderful party you had I loved all the tips and will use them for my own parties
I had a tea last week for my family and dear friends. When they came in I took their coat and poured them a cup of tea
I showed them the menu for the party which helped get them all excited
After everyone arrived I explained traditions of tea service and invited everyone to casually eat
I had more guests than expected so everyone was scattered but it was still nice
I do plan on hosting another one next year
I now know that I need to be on the look out for some supplies on clearance to make it even more special
We did use china and cloth which was nice BUT … I hated cleaning it all… I plan to look for a fancier napkin at least!
PS… we got what you are getting in terms of SNOW… I guess it did move north!!
Blessings
Patricia
Kate- says
your party looked fabulous! I loved ALL of your ideas! I'm sure your neighbors felt at home!!
I liked the idea with the little cereals!!! That is too cool, and how perfect was it that they fit in that basket PERFECTLY?!
this blessed nest says
i couldn't agree with you more on the plating & utencil finding the day before. it is very time consuming. especially when you want to "primp" the food table(s) the day of the party. i do know i need to check out that scrapbook link you have referred to. i haven't been & i must check it out.
what a great brunch party!!! and in the SNOW!!! how fun was that!