Organizing For a Stress-free Holiday: Entertaining Made Easy

Are you hosting a holiday party this year? You don’t have to do it all alone. Get a support system and you’ll ensure that everyone has good time, including you. 

If you don’t have a regular cleaning service, get one to come before and/or after your party. If you don’t have the budget to hire a service, just clean the public rooms that will be used during the party. Now is not the time to get the whole house organized and cleaned; you can do that after the holiday rush. Hire a couple of students to serve the food and help with the clean-up afterwards. You get to spend more time with your guests and the students get to earn some money during the time they probably need it most. If you don’t know of any students that can help with the clean-up, consider renting plates for the party. The rental company will deliver and pick up the plates and you don’t have to wash them; just stack them in the box. Instead of a sit down dinner, serve finger foods that can be made (or purchased) in advance. Or consider a pot luck dinner where everyone brings their specialty. When it comes to baking, bake just one thing in bulk and share with others. Or, if you don’t like to bake, buy instead and display it elegantly. I personally don’t bake but I love to decorate, so I get together with my fwb (friend who bakes); she mixes and rolls out the cookie dough and I pour on the sprinkles!  Best of all, we get to spend some time together.

Keep in mind that guests seem to be more relaxed and have a better time at parties when the host is having fun too. Don’t get stuck in the kitchen, line up a support system because you deserve to have a good time too.

This is the last of the series on Organizing For a Stress-free Holiday. I hope you’ve enjoyed and benefited from the tips; I’ve certainly learned from all of you, so thanks for sharing your suggestions.  Hope you have a happy, healthy and stress-free holiday season.