Have a Magical Christmas & a Happy New Year!

"Fair be the path beneath your feet.
Bright be the skies above you-
Where'er you go, still may you meet
Friends that will truly love you".

How to organize a successful party.

If you are planning to have a holiday party in your house you might like to know a few helpful tips for organizing without stress. First of all you will need a guest list, it is a list of people you would like to invite. After you make that list you should call everyone or use an old fashioned way by sending printed-out invitations by mail with information about the party such as: the date and time, the address, the theme of the party and the confirmation date. You need to be confirmed about how many quests can attend the party. After that is settled you need to start thinking about the menu. One question needs to be answered about the style of your party: is it going to be a sit down party with many different courses or a buffet style where quests can serve the food and drinks themselves.

This is a very important part of creating the menu, because these two styles should have different food. One more thing you need to keep in mind when creating a menu, is to make sure if you need to include special dishes for some of your vegetarian guests or people with food allergies. It is a good idea to print menus, so your friends can enjoy a glimpse of the feast up front.

Next step is to buy everything that can be bought and stored in advance: liquor drinks and soda, paper plates and forks if needed, holiday decorations and party favors (small gifts for your guests, a token of appreciation for attending your party). Find some time for wrapping the gifts with special care and personal touches, don't forget to write the "thank you" note. Three or four days before the party start preparing the food according to what style of party you are giving: buy the finest and freshest ingredients, start peeling, dicing, and slicing some vegetables, make a broth and sauces in advance. You can even bake a cake two days ahead, but make sure to put it together on the same day of your party. I like to set up a table at night before my guests come, that way I have more time to relax and look beautiful for the event.

I hope my tips are helpful, and you will use them to organize your next party. Entertaining can be handful and difficult, but with right preparation you can enjoy it as much as your guests.