| By :
Andy Grant
In this article, we'll take you through some basics that will help keep your pre-party planning stress to a minimum. Tip #6 - Select the Entertainment Entertainment is a key element of any gathering, and it can be as simple as music on the CD player, to something as elaborate as scheduled activities. When selecting the entertainment options for your party, consider how many people will likely attend, and how well do they know each other. Also consider the size and layout of the space. Here are some fun ideas: - white elephant gift swap game
- gift exchange (random)
- have a rental projector set up to: entertain the kids with a children's Christmas movie, project movies onto a wall (for example, "A Christmas Story" or "It's a Wonderful Life") for background ambiance, create a DVD slide show with old family holiday photos or images of Christmas cards, etc. Tip #7 - Create and Send the Invitations Now that you know what kind of party you're hosting, and who you're inviting (as well as how big the guest list is), it's time to create and send your invitations. You can use a free service like evite.com to send "green" invitations via email, and track responses and the total count of guests attending. Or you can create invitations on your computer to send out via snail mail or hand delivery (a nice touch for neighbors, family members, etc.) Tip #8 - Plan the Menu Arguably one of the most fun and stressful parts of planning any party, it's positively essential to "nail" the menu. Not only will proper menu planning keep you on target with your budget, but it allows you to effectively plan your grocery shopping and to ensure that you have a good balance of sweet and savory foods, hot and cold hors d'oerves, and vegetarian vs. meat dishes. Food is a key component of any social gathering, but there's no need to completely stress out over this element. If your budget allows, go for local catering via a service or a local restaurant (or even a semi-fast-food chain, like Subway or Chik-Fil-A). If cooking and food prep are not your forte', this would be a great place to solicit help from friends, neighbors or family. Tip #9 - Decorations Depending on what kind of party you're hosting, you may not need much at all in the way of decorations. Also, if you're hosting the party at your home, consider how much decorating you typically do for the holidays - your "normal" holiday decor may be plenty enough for your holiday gathering. You'll likely want to add festive paper products or dishes for your gathering, as well as a beautiful centerpiece for the main table. Now it's up to you to complete the remaining action items on your party planning to-do list. Remember to get help from the people who agreed to assist you - this will ensure that you don't get stressed with trying to do everything yourself.
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