Tips to Plan a Great Holiday Party

‘Tis the season for holiday party fun! If you’re planning to create your own event and get in on the action, the time to start is now! With only three weeks ‘til Christmas and four ‘til New Year’s Eve, you need to get going now to plan the best party ever!

Starting Today

  • Make your guest list and get out invitations. You can go old school and mail invitations or you can use technology and invite people via Evite, Eventbrite, or Facebook.
  • Buy your decorations. You’ll find a better selection now, and if you look for sales, you may get a good deal. Try off-price retailers such as Big Lots, which have nice prices and selection right now.
  • Plan the food. Will you cook? Cater? Ask guests to bring a dish? Build the plan now and either order or start to stock up your food. You can even cook some things ahead of time and freeze them, so you don’t have to stress later.
  • Schedule any vendors you need. Consider not only the food but also entertainment. Do you need a DJ? Tables and chairs? A bounce house or outside entertainment? Coordinate these now so you can make sure you get the date you want.

One Week Prior

  • Confirm all of your vendors to be sure they’re on the same page you are.
  • Send out a reminder email to all of your guests. People get busy and may have forgotten to add your event to their calendars, as crazy as that seems.
  • Decorate the house, if you haven’t already. That means the tree, lights, and everything else that’s been in storage for the past year.
  • Start cleaning. If you didn’t already book a professional, you’ll need to be in charge of this, and you can do some deep cleaning now with a touch-up the day before the party.
  • Bake cookies, if you plan to have them (and you haven’t started already). Unless you’re an award-winning baker, you probably won’t want to spend more than a couple of hours in the kitchen at a shot, so you can do a batch a day and be set to go.

The Day Prior

  • Spot clean the house and put away anything you don’t want out when guests are afoot.
  • Check your light bulbs, especially outside. Clear a path to the door and ensure everything is well lit so everyone can find the party.
  • Review your list of what needs to be done and make sure everything is taken care of.
  • Pull all of your frozen, prepped food out to the fridge to defrost before tomorrow.
  • Choose your outfit. This might seem silly, but you’ll be thankful you did this when you’re running around the day of the party.

The Day Of

  • Put beverages on ice at least two hours before guests are scheduled to arrive so they have time to cool. Naturally, if you have enough fridge space, you can skip this step.
  • Relax and have a great time! All of your prep has paid off.

Planning a holiday party can be stressful, but when you get all of your ducks in a row and use professional help as needed, you can be sure you’ll host a success. White Knight Party Rental has you covered for all of your party rental needs, from bounce houses to heaters to tents. Call us at 602-277-2789 to schedule your party rental items now!

Leave a Reply