Parties...Who, What, When, Where, Why & How?

Parties are such great fun, full of festivity, and they affect every one of our five senses. I LOVE parties! Have you noticed that not too many people have parties or special events in their homes anymore? Many people have chosen other venues for parties these days. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. These are some important questions and considerations a hostess must ponder before a celebration.

• How much will it cost? Will the cost be shared?
• Will it be a pot-luck or will we prepare everything ourselves?
• How much work is involved?
• Vacuuming, dusting, general cleaning, window cleaning, grocery shopping, chopping, baking, cooking, refrigerating, invitations, music, scents or no-scents, candles, lighting, flowers, decorations, party favors, washing or polishing rarely used serving items, yard work, etc.
• How many people will attend?
• How long will the event last?
• Will it be catered, or will we do the serving ourselves?
• If served, what happens if someone drinks too much alcohol?
• What if someone ruins a carpet, piece of furniture, or treasured antique?
• What if the guests way overstay their allotted time frame for the party?
• How comfortable am I with people moving about in my kitchen when I am performing last minute preparations?
• How much time am I willing to invest in planning, preparing my home, orchestrating special touches, and final clean-up?
• Will there be children attending that I will need to keep entertained?
• Will this be a complimentary mix of people?
• What do I need to plan so that everyone will feel important and have a delightful time?
  

As you can see, so many components are a part of planning a party of any kind. I say it is worth the time, effort and risks! I have so many happy memories of time spent with family and friends in my home.

Something worth knowing: When hosts have singled you out to be a specially invited guest at an event, no matter what it is, it means they may have left others off of their list because they really want YOU to be there. So your invitation is special!

In order to plan well, hostesses need to know if you will be attending as soon as possible. This not only builds excitement into the anticipation of the event for them, but it also insures excellent planning on their part and that there will be enough food, beverages, favors, tables, chairs, linens and dinnerware for each person.

See Blog Post: The Ten Commandments of Being a Delightful Party "Guest" listing ten ways to insure guests and hosts both have a great time. While you can’t include these in your invitations, you can refer to them for when you or a family member is invited to a special event. These are common sense, but sometimes people need to be reminded of proper manners, which are always treating other people as you would want to be treated.