Deck the Halls This Year!

Whether your idea of a Christmas party is a gathering of all your closest friends and family at your home, or a slew of employees at the office, make your Christmas party memorable by truly celebrating Christmas.  Everyone loves Christmas not just because presents are entailed but because it draws everyone together creating a temporary bond between those who surround you. The holiday provides a sense of happiness that can be found within everyone, so this Christmas, don’t run around like a chicken with your head cut off, but carefully plan out the party, and allow your self to enjoy it too.

To make it simple, take into consideration the food you are going to serve, the entertainment that will be provided, and the decorations everyone will admire.

Lets start out with the main comforting factor and topic of the evening, food. When preparing an assortment of cookies, snacks, and delectable desserts, you must first take into consideration allergies and taste.  Be sure to have a wide variety just incase someone may be allergic to peanuts and other allergens.  Second, when mapping out your dishes, carefully consider the taste of each dish.  Be sure to balance out your snacks with an equal amount of sweetness and salt. Make sure they taste naughty, yet nice.  Try not to make each desert full of calories for the more your guests eat, the lazier they will feel which can be a major deciding factor for the rest of the party, not to mention the fate of your entertainment.  Depending on the crowd attending the party, take into account how much food you should make.  Always think less is more because you are going to have a range of snacks from what may be Christmas cookies, to tasty entrées, and then deserts. You can look at it as if it were a three course meal.  First, the guest will nibble on the cookies and appetizers if you have provided them. Second, as for the main course, make a variety of food ranging from little hand held sandwiches to casseroles and salads. This part of the meal should fill up your guest leaving little if any room for desert.  On that notes, the cookies double for appetizers and deserts, so keep an extra stash or maybe another flavor on the side to set out come desert time. Pies, cakes, and chocolate candies are the decadent saints of any party.  Whether your guest has eaten a full meal, or goes straight for the desert, what was there in the beginning will no longer be there in the end. There is something about holidays that encompass our minds telling us that it is okay to splurge and eat as much as we like, and we all know, the one thing almost every human craves, is sweets. Be sure to make plenty!

Next is the entertainment!! Depending on the location of your Christmas party, choose a source of entertainment that includes everyone, not just the physically fit or class clowns. A game of Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, or your own version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire are hits. If your looking for something a little more hip, try hiring a personal DJ whether they are professional or your husbands best friend, spin some hits and watch the crowd boogie on down. Everyone loves to dance, just be sure to play the Macarena and the Electric Slide at least once so everyone at the party has a memorable moment where they all did something together.

The simplest yet most important part of all, is the decorations.  Decorating for Christmas can be such a hassle but when it is all said and done, we never want to take them down. There is something about Christmas that provides a peace of mind.  During the holidays families become closer and forget about their stressful lives, and decorating together will do just that. On that notes, get your family involved no matter where the party is held.  Decorating can be fun for we get to use our sense of imagination that is hindered in every other aspect of our lives.  Do not try and go over the top with holly and Poinsettias everywhere, decorate with simple red bows and Christmas lights that frame entry ways and lace the tree. Your Christmas decorations shouldn’t look like you threw Halloween party, keep them simple and pretty, just enough to set the mood and warm your heart.

Lastly, simple, simple, simple, is the way to go.  All of your tasks such as the decorating, entertainment, and food can be prepared days in advanced. If your having the party at your office, ask your co-workers for help.  You are not the only one that works there, nor are you the only on attending the party.  Who cares if a couple people see the scene before hand, when it all comes down to get it, the second viewing will be just as nice. So work hard all year, but take it easy this Christmas.  Enjoy the party, and deck the halls with vows of holly fa la la la la la la!