Life’s An Event
Home-Thrown Parties
By Angie Simonson, blogger
advice-unsolicited.blogspot.com
Santa has too much to do to plan your party, so it’s
all up to you. After shopping, wrapping, decorating
and checking your list twice (or a hundred) times,
planning a holiday party can seem overwhelming, even
if it is just for family and friends. With a few ideas
and a little insight from this mom of four whose made
home-thrown parties her hobby, you’ll knock your
guests’ reindeer-jingle bell socks off.
Before we get carried away, let’s just say in Northern
Minnesota, finding a “Martha Stewart” is like finding
a Sasquatch... we know they are out there, but unless
you have beef jerky or an apple-scented sachet in your
gift bags, you won’t see one... and I won’t pretend to
be one. I’m not going to tell you how to properly set
the table (when all my family is over we have to break
out the spare set of silverware just to have enough
forks for everyone) and while we don’t (always) do
paper plates , you won’t find fine china here either.
The ideas I’ll share are real... tried and true, and budget
friendly. They may not be glamorous or approved by
Good Housekeeping Magazine, but I believe hosting
a home-thrown event is more about cultivating an
atmosphere where your friends and family can relax,
converse, laugh and enjoy themselves. I don’t think
any guest has left a party thinking “I would have had a
much better time if I would have had a salad fork AND
a dinner fork.”
So let’s get this party planning started. Planning a
party at home is as simple as planning the decor, food
and fun.
The Decor
Most people decorate for the holidays, so your work
is probably half done. Adding a few extra special
details will make the impression you want without
costing too much. Start with the basics, add a festive
tablerunner and centerpiece, use your Christmas
serving dishes and get some inexpensive window
clings to doll up the windows that get dark way too
fast in the winter. If guests are going to be in your
kitchen you can also use them on your appliances. If
you’ll have kids at your party - save this for them to do!
If you have young kids, you know that starting in the
beginning of December endless snow, snowman and
holiday themed art projects will be arriving home. Use
them to create an art gallery on an open wall and watch
your kiddos beam as guests admire their handiwork.
Blue painters tape works great for a quick installation
and take down without damaging the masterpieces.
Watch your kiddos beam as
guests admire their handiwork.
If you don’t have kids, but still want the holiday wall
art, pull your framed art off the wall and wrap the front
of it with left over holiday paper, add a bow, even a gift
tag and hang it back on the wall.
After the cookies have been made use your cookie
cutters to create a garland to hang over a window or
doorway. Your grand decorating total comes out to
about $3 for the window clings.