If you want to know the truth, we're party animals! Seriously, we must be. Either that or we're just nuts!
We feel absolutely blessed to live in Southern California and to have a beautiful deck and outdoor kitchen that my husband built years ago. Because of these two wonderful factors, we have a LOT {and I mean a LOT} of parties and people over - weekly! And now I can probably consider myself somewhat of an expert in having people over.
Being that tomorrow is July the 4th and many of us have people over or do a big celebration, I thought I'd give you some great last minute ways to handle having people over. You see, we had THREE parties in one week...three! It sounds crazy, but sometimes having a lot of parties in a short time is actually a GOOD thing. By the time we had the last part that week, I honestly hadn't really planned a whole lot - and that was the party that we had a more "fancy" theme since my husband's staff was coming over for a sit down dinner! Did I panic? Nope...
I had one day to plan things and it worked out fine. Here are a few things I did to make it easier:
1. Split up responsibilities. My husband was overseeing the food - his staff brings side dishes and dessert, and we provide the main dish and all the drinks. So, he oversaw purchasing all the necessities for that. I oversaw all the decorating. I had the kids do the cleaning prep and some set up.
2. Thrift Store finds. I have a stack of thrift store plates I bought several years ago that I use whenever we have a real "dinner party" - we usually do paper plates, but this was special for his staff so we used real stuff. I also have a stash of "real" silverware that I got FREE off my church free cycle that we keep in my outdoor buffet, but it's great to have extra to use. You could also get extra at the thrift store. If you don't have company enough to justify the purchase and storage of these, don't do it. Just use paper plates. But, it's something to think about.
3. Pretty but simple decorations. I have a stash of paper lanterns in all kinds of colors and sizes. Anytime we have a party that calls for more decorations than the usual get-together, I pull these out. They store flat - can you say "yay"? And, they can be mixed and matched to make any color to match the theme. Also, they're CHEAP! I get mine at LunaBazaar.com!
4. Enjoy the moment. I know when you have people over that you can tend to stress or feel anxious or want everything to be perfect, but know that it never will be. Your dinner party or bash won't be perfect. Ours never is. Stuff will happen and you just roll with it. Enjoy the people, sit and talk, get to know the people you have over.
Having people over should never be about impressing them or making yourselves look good. It's about them - ask them questions about where they met their spouse, how long they've lived in your area, if they have pets/kids, and other stuff to get the party rolling. People like to talk about themselves, generally, and when you make them feel special and take time to enjoy them and not worry so much about all the details, you find that the party is a success! Do I clean up everything right after? Nope. I do a little after the party - the real messy stuff and save the rest for the next day when I'm more refreshed and not rushed. We also ask them to help us sometimes, too! It's a lot of fun. For more help on having people over go HERE and get more great tips!
We feel absolutely blessed to live in Southern California and to have a beautiful deck and outdoor kitchen that my husband built years ago. Because of these two wonderful factors, we have a LOT {and I mean a LOT} of parties and people over - weekly! And now I can probably consider myself somewhat of an expert in having people over.
Being that tomorrow is July the 4th and many of us have people over or do a big celebration, I thought I'd give you some great last minute ways to handle having people over. You see, we had THREE parties in one week...three! It sounds crazy, but sometimes having a lot of parties in a short time is actually a GOOD thing. By the time we had the last part that week, I honestly hadn't really planned a whole lot - and that was the party that we had a more "fancy" theme since my husband's staff was coming over for a sit down dinner! Did I panic? Nope...
I had one day to plan things and it worked out fine. Here are a few things I did to make it easier:
1. Split up responsibilities. My husband was overseeing the food - his staff brings side dishes and dessert, and we provide the main dish and all the drinks. So, he oversaw purchasing all the necessities for that. I oversaw all the decorating. I had the kids do the cleaning prep and some set up.
2. Thrift Store finds. I have a stack of thrift store plates I bought several years ago that I use whenever we have a real "dinner party" - we usually do paper plates, but this was special for his staff so we used real stuff. I also have a stash of "real" silverware that I got FREE off my church free cycle that we keep in my outdoor buffet, but it's great to have extra to use. You could also get extra at the thrift store. If you don't have company enough to justify the purchase and storage of these, don't do it. Just use paper plates. But, it's something to think about.
3. Pretty but simple decorations. I have a stash of paper lanterns in all kinds of colors and sizes. Anytime we have a party that calls for more decorations than the usual get-together, I pull these out. They store flat - can you say "yay"? And, they can be mixed and matched to make any color to match the theme. Also, they're CHEAP! I get mine at LunaBazaar.com!
4. Enjoy the moment. I know when you have people over that you can tend to stress or feel anxious or want everything to be perfect, but know that it never will be. Your dinner party or bash won't be perfect. Ours never is. Stuff will happen and you just roll with it. Enjoy the people, sit and talk, get to know the people you have over.
Having people over should never be about impressing them or making yourselves look good. It's about them - ask them questions about where they met their spouse, how long they've lived in your area, if they have pets/kids, and other stuff to get the party rolling. People like to talk about themselves, generally, and when you make them feel special and take time to enjoy them and not worry so much about all the details, you find that the party is a success! Do I clean up everything right after? Nope. I do a little after the party - the real messy stuff and save the rest for the next day when I'm more refreshed and not rushed. We also ask them to help us sometimes, too! It's a lot of fun. For more help on having people over go HERE and get more great tips!
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