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Christmas is easily the best time of year. The excitement of another year coming to a close, the achievements and memories of the past, the new things to come, the shopping and hanging out with your family and friends.
Late night strolls to see the magical lights display and of course the trimming of the tree…
All this inspiration certainly raises the love, and if you are a hopeless holiday celebrator like me, you are probably thinking about hosting your own Christmas Party. However, being the host is not always roses and champagne, it takes a lot of planning, organisation and a calm-under-fire attitude.
The Plan Every good event always starts off with a detailed plan or timeline listing the things you need to get done and by when.
Where and When First thing on your plan should be the location and the date. Will it be at your home? Or someone else’s? Or perhaps you want to hire a venue? Whichever option, make sure when choosing the date of your event that you allow yourself a reasonable amount of time for planning and also for your guests if you want a good turn-out.
Theme It’s Christmas! So your theme is relatively easy. Make your Christmas party different by adding some games, or ask each guest to bring along a $5 gift for random distribution. Do you have any friends game enough to dress up as Santa? Will your Christmas tree already be decorated or is that something you would like to do with your guests? Think of interesting and original things to do at your party to ensure long-lasting memories.
Who’s Who? The invite list can be the trickiest of the lot. You want to invite people you are close to and like but also remember those people that may not rate highly with you, but will with others. Thinking way outside of the square for your invite list could save a lot of drama later on. Make three lists of people, those you like and want to come, those who you probably should invite and those who you know due to other commitments probably can’t attend. If the total number of people on the combined three lists is more than the number you can safely have at your party, start condensing to create your final list.
Interesting Invites It is no longer acceptable to send a boring plain email to your guests about your party. To gain a good turn out, sending thoughtful, creative and tangible invites will entice more people to come to your event. For a smaller party at home plan to send your invites no more than three weeks in advance and no less than two weeks.
Catering & Alcohol Drinking is a big part of Kiwi culture, however being a responsible host is just as important. Make sure you know who the sober drivers are and offer them a good selection of yummy mock-tails and other non-alcoholic drinks. Food needs to be substantial and available throughout the evening. For more information on alcohol and substantial food at your event visit www.alac.org.nz
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f another year coming to a close, the achievements and memories of the past, the new things to come, the shopping and hanging out with your family and friends. 
Every good event always starts off with a detailed plan or timeline listing the things you need to get done and by when. 
condensing to create your final list.