Holiday Party Planning The holidays are a time to get together.
It's also a time to enjoy, so being prepared is a must.
Depending on the holiday, this will dictate the theme, so go from there.
The most important part of planning anything is your checklist.
So start by deciding if this is formal, semiformal, casual or a pool party.
Once you know that, plan your menu accordingly.
Again depending on your holiday, if it's the 4th of July, more than likely it will be a barbeque, so this is a good time to have everyone bring their favorite family recipe.
Money is an issue in this economy, so be creative.
Just because we don't have the money we use to, this shouldn't stop us from having a party.
How about Christmas? Why not have everyone bring a potluck, where you bring your favorite dish that your family always made at Christmas time? Then you are only responsible for the beverages.
During this economy everyone is happy to pitch in and bring whatever is needed.
How about a cocktail party, where each guest brings their favorite cocktail and favorite appetizer.
Now let's talk invitations.
Evite's have become a great way of sending an invitation out.
If you're looking to be "Old Fashion" sending out invitations can be fun, especially if you make them.
I love to come up with different ways to make an invitation.
Go into your "Stuff".
If you have kids I'm sure they have glitter and construction paper or colored pens that you can write with.
Depending on the party, make something that will set the theme of the party.
For instance, when I was throwing a Fourth of July party, I took a roll of brown paper (the paper you use when you sent out a package) and used that as a tablecloth and then I took a brown paper bag (from the grocery store) ripped it and took a crayon and wrote the invite on it and sent it out.
I love to make everything FUN.
Your guest will recognize the work you put into it and now you have set the theme for FUN.