Simply Stated - Blogs - Holidays & Entertaining

The purpose of entertaining is to get together and have fun, but all that preparing for "fun" can be a lot of work! It's frustrating to feel anxious & rushed instead of relaxed & excited when your soirée is about to begin... maybe you still have a lot of decorating to do or you just got back from a last-minute trip to the grocery store that put yet another dent in your already over-extended party budget. The most common entertaining-related stressors that I've heard about - and experienced myself - usually have to do with time and money. Here are a few tips I've learned that might be able to help:

1. Make room for more "cooks in the kitchen".
Ask close friends and/or family members to bring an appetizer or dessert. (If they're REALLY close friends, chances are good that they'll even beat you to the punch and ask you what they can bring first!) This will save you both time and money - especially when the effort is spread to multiple people, and you might be surprised how genuinely excited others may be to contribute to the party effort. It can give them the chance to make a favorite dish to share that they don't usually whip up when they're just sitting around the house, and even if they end up just bringing something ready-made from the store - everyone loves to feel useful & appreciated.

2. Two heads are better than one.
If you're co-hosting an event, then you'll probably already have someone around to help on the day of the party, but if you'll be playing host or hostess by yourself, don't forget to enlist the help of someone while you're setting up! This "helper" can be your significant other, a friend, roommate, mom...just anyone you don't mind asking to help with everything from spotting the ladder while you try to hang things from the ceiling to running down to the store to pick up more ice.

3. Learn how you work, then create your own rules.
I came to a realization recently about why I always feel like I'm in a race with the clock when it's just about time for my guests to start arriving. I'd start out planning each party way in advance, but would inevitably find myself racing around the house trying to hang more lights, chop drink garnishes, or decorate this or that until the second the doorbell rang - not to mention the fact that I always had about 5 minutes to put myself together for the party because I felt more compelled to spend time primping the centerpiece!

Then I finally realized the problem. It wasn't that I was starting everything too last-minute, I was just trying to use up every single minute that I thought I had available to me.... kind of like an SAT test - you might be done with all of the questions, but if there's still time on the clock, you'll probably keep reviewing your answers until you absolutely have to part with them.

So from here on out, MY new rule is this: do as much as humanly possible the day before the party – clean, decorate, set the tables, do the grocery shopping, hang the lights – and then ON the day of the party, pretend it starts about 3 hours before it actually does. Hopefully next time this particular hostess has a party, she'll be frazzle-free and blissfully relaxing with a glass of wine when that doorbell rings!

What about you? What aspects of the entertaining process create the most stress for you? I often hear of frustrations surrounding budget, creativity, where to find things, guest etiquette, and more. Or maybe you have some helpful tips to share that make entertaining easier and more enjoyable for you?

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