With the July 4th holiday coming up, you might be preparing for all the fun and festivities that are about to take place. If you’re hosting, there’s an extra level of prep required to make sure that your guests are well taken care of while at your house – there’s the grocery shopping, decoration set up, getting the house in tip top shape and not to mention the actual day of where so much of your time is spent making sure others are being taken care of.
While hosting holiday gatherings at your home creates a great time for family and friends to spend time with one another, as a host it can be hard to relax and enjoy the moment. While everyone else is pouring themselves a beverage and snacking on the hotdogs, your mind can tend to be preoccupied with cleaning as you go, making sure utensils are restocked, refilling the ice in coolers, etc.
If your house is deemed the “party house” it’s easy to let these things take over your brain, which creates more stress and causes you to completely miss the party. To help ease some of the not-so-fun parts of hosting during holiday gatherings, we’ve got a few tips for you to implement this year that will make you be seen as the “host with the most” 🥳
Before we get to the tips, I want to present a mindset shift that you can adopt to take some of the pressure off of hosting.
“True hospitality is when someone leaves your presence feeling better about themselves, not about you.” – Unknown
This is a quote that reflects what hosting is really all about. Even though you want to have the best food, best decor, nicest home and the perfect set up for your events, at the end of the day, it’s not about you at all. It’s about how others feel when they leave.
More than anything, hosting is about making others feel welcome. It’s about making them feel seen, heard and loved. If you can accomplish that, the other stuff doesn’t really matter!
Remember that as you plan your gatherings this summer and beyond.
First things first, make sure that you maintain your regular cleaning scheduling leading up to the actual event day. Even though you have a lot going on and your to-do list might be extra lengthy when you’re hosting a party, don’t let certain things fall to the side.
The last thing you want on event day is to realize that your ceiling fans are covered in dust. Stick to your regular cleaning schedule and you can rest assured knowing that your home is in its top condition when guests arrive.
To make sure you’re covering all of your bases, CLICK HERE to grab my complimentary Daily, Weekly and Monthly Cleaning Checklist!
If you’re hosting more than 6-8 people, one of our top tips is to use disposable dinnerware and silverware because no one wants to be left with every dish in their house dirty after an event ends. And, contrary to what you might believe, guests don’t care what they eat off of!
To make things fun, buy some festive paper plates and napkins and call it a day.
We get it – you want to be the host with the most. But believe it or not, sometimes less is more, especially when it comes to your holiday decor. While an extra touch of festive decor is always nice, you don’t have to go overboard.
Choose one or two areas, such as the tablescape and entrance, that you want to focus on and leave the rest.
As a host, it’s tempting to show off your cooking skills, but committing to making the menu from scratch can create a whole new level of stress that takes away from the fun that you get to enjoy.
Instead of trying to do it all yourself, consider having your food catered. This will eliminate some of the dishes that you’re responsible for at the end of the night and can often even provide leftovers for you and your guests to enjoy days later.
If catering isn’t your thing, have your guests bring a side dish so that you aren’t responsible for everything yourself. It’ll make your life easier and it will make your invitees feel involved in the process – and remember: that’s what hosting is all about!
When hosting an event of any kind, there’s a lot of prep involved that usually happens in the kitchen. With this, it might be tempting to fill your dishwasher up as you’re prepping and leave it for later, but this is a surefire way to be angry at yourself as the party comes to a close.
Even with the emphasis on disposable items, there’s typically always going to be a few things that need to be washed. To make this easier on yourself, make sure your dishwasher is empty before your party begins, so you can easily fill it up once the night is over!
One of the easiest ways to make sure that your house stays as clean as possible during holiday gatherings is to keep the party outside if possible. If you have a porch, patio or garage, set up the food and beverage along with tables and seating in these areas so that guests are encouraged to stay outside to mingle.
This will keep people from gathering in different parts of your home and will eliminate the need to clean up every square inch afterwards. Guests get to enjoy each other’s company and you get to save your sanity! It’s a win/win 🏆
This one might sound silly, but think about the last time you attended a party or gathering and the trash cans were overflowing. A lot of people in one space for an extended amount of time where food and drink is involved is bound to bring a ton of trash that you aren’t used to on a regular basis, which means your kitchen trash can probably isn’t going to cut it.
To save yourself from constantly taking out the trash during your event, invest in a larger trash can and most importantly keep extra trash bags handy so that you can easily change things out when needed.
This summer as you invite your friends and family into your home for holiday gatherings or casual hangouts, remember to implement these 7 tips so that you can create harmony and actually enjoy yourself!
If you dream of hosting, but feel like you need greater organization throughout your home before you feel confident doing so, that’s what we’re here for. Click here to connect with your team to see how we can serve you best.