How to Host the Perfect Christmas Party

Any successful hostess will tell you that preparation, presentation and the right dress are key to throwing a fantastic Christmas party. A few mince pies, Santa Clause and merriment will also help you out, too! Well, this is the feedback from the ExpatWoman team, anyway.

So let’s get you started in throwing the most perfectly festive Christmas bash so that everyone, including yourself, can enjoy all of the fun!

Step 1: What to wear?

There is no denying that shopping for your Christmas party outfit will surely put you in the right mood and on the right track. Plus, the sooner you get this planned and sorted the better. The last thing you want is to be rushing around the day before the party stressing out because you have nothing to wear.

If you’ve set a dress theme, make sure you’re a prime example of your chosen attire! Ugly Christmas jumpers? Make sure yours is the ugliest. Or your children, niece or nephew, that’s what they’re there for… Fancy dress party? Go all out! Or if you’re taking the easier route of simple, chic and stylish Christmas wear, then think simple. Choose the right outfit to suit your shape and look!

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• Top Christmas gifts for your loved ones
• Ways to enjoy the 12 days of Christmas
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Step 2: Organise when and who’s coming

When you’ve decided on your theme, colour scheme and what you’re going to wear, now’s the time to make sure you’re not the only one attending! Put together a list of people you’d like to invite, and decide how you’re going to get the word out – invitations via email or post, or Facebook events are useful!
Ideally you want to be informing everyone at least a month prior to the event itself, as the holiday season is a time when diaries get filled up quickly!

Step 3: Set the scene!

Dress your house as stylishly as you are, or keep in theme at least. Deck your halls with flowers, Christmas décor or handmade paper chains, tinsel and glitter! Make sure to hire the children to help you with the paper chains.

We can imagine your house will be feeling pretty festive already, anyway but adding some extra bits will make sure you and your guests are set for a splendid evening of merriment and cheer.

Don’t forget the mistletoe to catch unsuspecting guests!

Step 4: What food and drink will you serve?

Take the stress out of catering for everyone with cooked meals, and instead serve appetizers and a buffet. But make sure there’s enough to go round! After all, it’s essential to serve enough food to mop up everyone’s drinks.

Choose easy recipes that can be prepared in advance and warmed, if necessary, when the guests arrive. Make sure you have a nice balance, too! Like classic mince pies and Christmas cake mixed with savory bites. Remember to have a large stash of napkins to hand, too!

For drinks, set up a self-serve cocktail bar as the last thing you want to be doing is spending your own party fixing drinks for everyone. Organise an easy-to-make drinks bar with precut garnishes, infused vodkas and drink recipes so your guests can help themselves!

Step 5: The all important music!

Make sure you have a nice long list of Christmas and party music to keep everyone in the mood for the entire evening. Creating playlists via iTunes or music streaming websites is relatively easy nowadays, so you shouldn’t have a problem and it isn’t something that will take up a huge amount of your time throughout the party itself, too.
 
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Step 6: Invite Santa and his elves

Because, why not? Or you could convince a good friend, husband or relative to dress as the main man in red just to bring some extra entertainment and Christmas magic for any children attending your party. And adults too, of course.

Step 7: Keeping your guests entertained

Perhaps you’d like to organise some festive games throughout the evening? When your guests arrive, have them guess how many ornaments are on your tree for a prize, which is an easy way to get things started for the evening. You could arrange Christmas “find out who”, which is a great way for your guests to get to know one another better. And there’s lots of other easy games like Christmas movie trivia, charades and you could place out props for your guests to take photos with!