We are in the half of the year where so many holiday celebrations are going on. Along with those celebrations is another celebration that’s coming in January…my 25th birthday! With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays all being so close, this can only mean one thing…PARTIES! What’s a holiday or a birthday without a party? I have yet to host a holiday party, but I have hosted parties for my birthday. These may be for different occasions, but the same amount of work goes into them. If you’re planning on hosting a party soon and have no idea where to even start, don’t worry, I got you! Just keep reading.

So first, let me give you guys a little run down on my own personal experience of hosting my own parties. I’m someone who struggles a lot with procrastinating. I’m even dealing with that right now when it comes to planning for my 25th birthday. I highly suggest you not become like me. Regardless of my procrastination struggles, in the end the parties always end up fun. It does take a lot of work and sometimes a lot of money. I’m also a perfectionist with things like this as well. I want everything to work out with no problems. That’s not realistic. I’ve gotten frustrated a few times because SOMETHING has to go wrong. Just know, that it’s ok. You’ll have some bumps in the road, that’s usual when having to deal with other people, but just take a breather and try not to let it get to you.

When planning on hosting a party, there are a lot of things to consider. You have to think about who to invite, what food to have, the music, how you’re going to keep your guests entertained, decorations, if you want a certain theme or color scheme, etc. It can be a lot, which is why you the best thing to do is take it a moment at a time. Approach everything little by little so that way you’re not overwhelmed. Once you become overwhelmed then you might not want to even have the party anymore and that’s not fun.

Now it’s time for some tips to help get you through and have everyone calling you the best host ever by the end of the night!

1. Make a theme. Figure out what your theme or color scheme of the party will be. Themes are so fun! If you’re doing a Christmas party, then maybe you’d want it to be Winter Wonderland. Once you figure that out, then it will help the rest of the planning go so much smoother!

2. Figure out your decor. You can’t have a party and no decor! You need something to make your party look live. You don’t have to go crazy, (unless you really want to wow your guests) but you need a little something. You can even get really creative and make your own decor.

3. Food and drinks. Your guests are going to want some food and drinks. That’s one of the first things people ask about when being invited to a party. If it’s a really big party, then a good idea is to have the party catered. If it’s something a little smaller, then making or ordering a different variety of food will work as well. A cute idea is to have little desserts or alcoholic drinks that fit the theme of your party!

4. Music. You HAVE to have some music to keep the party alive! There are so many playlists on Spotify that you can choose from to keep everyone in the groove, or you can create your own party playlist. Whenever I have a party for my birthday, I always update my party playlist to make sure there are more current upbeat songs for everyone to dance to. Again, if it’s a bigger party, maybe consider hiring a DJ if that’s something you’re able to do.

5. Entertainment. Music is part of entertainment, but when I say entertainment here, I mean things like games. You need to make sure your guests are having a good time the entire way through. A good way of ensuring that is to add a game or two in the mix. You can buy some or get really creative and make some of your own.

6. Start the party at the invite. Clearly, the main thing you need to do is invite some guests right? So when you get your list down of who all you want at the party, why not create a fun invitation to make them feel ready to go?! Some people still like to do paper invites where you send them out in the mail. That’s really nice, however, we’re in the 21st century so why not use E-cards. They’re so fun to make and are a lot less of a hassle to send out. I personally love using E-cards. A site that’s good for making E-cards is Paperlesspost.com. They have different cards for ANY occasion from brunch to birthdays to holiday parties, you name it. They even let you do some of your own customizations to add your personal touch. I recommend you guys check them out!

These tips should help you host a party that you and your friends will remember! Have you ever hosted a party before? What’s a tip you’d give to someone hosting a party for the first time?