While you may be still enjoying the spookiest time of the year, believe it or not the winter season will be here before we know it. As the days get shorter and colder, the twinkle of the holidays will soon take over our homes and schedules. And if you’re planning a holiday party this year, you may be starting to plan the event sooner than later. Hosting a holiday party for friends, family, or colleagues can be both fun and stressful at the same time. But we have some tips on how to host a holiday party that everyone will love.
How to Host a Holiday Party
Get started planning early.
When you’re planning a holiday party, it’s best to get started as early as you can. And yes, that might mean in early November (or earlier!). From securing a venue to aligning everyone’s schedule, getting a jump start on planning can relieve headaches down the road. If nothing else, start by planning the date of the event so that you have something locked into everyone’s calendar before it starts to fill up with festivities for the season.
Secure a venue space.
When you’re looking for the perfect date for the event, you’ll also want to determine where it will be held. This is another great reason to start planning as early as you can. You’ll want to have a general idea of the guest list or amount of people that will be attending when you’re looking for a venue. Determine if you’ll be allowing guests to bring a plus one or additional family members. However, it’s OK if you only have an estimate or range of guests at this time.
Determine the dress code.
Holiday parties can be casual, fun, or fancy! Whatever style you decide to make your holiday party, be sure to share the information with all your guests. You can encourage guests to dress up in cocktail attire, or you can throw an ugly sweater gathering where everyone dresses silly and fun. You can also keep it generally casual and have guests just wear what makes them comfortable.
Decide on games and activities.
Once it gets closer to the event, it’s time to plan the fun stuff. Holiday parties are fun as it is, but you can have extra fun by planning some festive games and activities. Consider holiday-themed trivia, bingo, or charades as options for classic games. Another thing you’ll need to decide is whether gifts will be exchanged or not. If you plan on doing gifts, a secret Santa or white elephant exchange are great options for groups.
Enlist others to help out.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others to plan the party. The details of planning a party can get overwhelming, and it’s sometimes helpful to bounce ideas off of others. You can either ask another person to help out with planning or ask a few others to get insight and ideas. Just be sure to ask for help earlier on in the planning process as people tend to get busier once December comes around.
Host Your Holiday Party at Historic Acres
If you’re planning a holiday party this season, Historic Acres offers a venue space for groups of varying sizes. Contact our team to learn more about our availability and rates.