Well, I had a killer pink holiday party last night. Thanks to those of you who came!
After a few busts, I’ve learned a few things about hosting a good party. Here are a few of my secrets. Shhhh…
1. Send invites early. I wish I could have spur of the moment parties easily, but my friends are busy and need to plan.
2. Personally send invites. Sending a Facebook invite or evite sure is easy, but it doesn’t beat a personal email or phone call. The more you talk about the party, the more likely friends are to come!
3. Add mood lighting. I hadn’t even thought about a lighting scheme, but a room feels more intimate and party-like with low lights and candles.
4. Avoid the circle of death! Make sure you have significantly more people than seating and creating things to do in different zones of the party area. I spread out wine and snacks throughout my living room and kitchen.
5. Don’t cook. I love to cook good food, but a cocktail party is not time to show off your skills. I bought veggies, cheese, and made a bit of guacamole which were all ready to go 15 minutes before guests arrived. Stress free, and allowed me to chat rather than fuss over food.
6. Have something to do. We had a little competition over who brought the best bottle of wine. Guests tasted different wines over the night and voted on their favorites. It’s a great reason to mingle and chat. The highlight (and competition winner) was a bottle of pineapple wine that was made by a guest!
Without further ado, behold my fantastic pink Christmas tree!
-Liz
Great advice! I think you’re so right about making the invitations more personal by calling or talking to people about your party. Makes a big difference in the number of friends who show up.
That pink tree is so fun!
Thanks Julia!
Linking over from TDC, and this is the first pink tree I’ve seen – LOVE IT!!
Thanks Rebecca! I’m surprised that there aren’t more pink trees. Have you seen making it lovely’s pink tree? It’s way huge! http://makingitlovely.com/2011/12/14/pink-christmas/
LOVE the pink! Would love it if you would stop by and share this at my linky party going on right
http://everything-underthemoon.blogspot.com/2011/12/bedazzle-me-monday-12.html
Happy Holidays!!
I love linkies. I’ll stop by! Thanks for the comment.
Such a sweet pink tree!
Thank you, Miss Charming!