My Favorite Party + 4 Tips To Throwing a Great Party

I’m linking up today with Andrea at Momfessionals to talk about my favorite party I’ve hosted.

I absolutely love throwing get togethers and parties.  Hosting/hospitality is definitely my spiritual gift. I’ve only blogged a few of the parties I’ve hosted, but I’ll share my favorite!  This happens to be one of this blogs most popular posts with over 20,000 views to date.  I also have some frugal tips to throwing a great party for your guests.

One of my favorite parties is Beckham’s 1st birthday party.  A Baseball themed birthday party.  I went back and forth between a soccer and baseball theme.  I thought baseball was perfect for the son of a former professional baseball player.  You can read about all the details HERE.

   
My favorite decoration was this “line-up” of his monthly pictures with the words “Beckham hits a HomeONE”  I came up with this as I was planning the party, and I was quite proud of the saying…I’m not creative when it comes to a play on words.

I also really enjoyed planning and throwing his Fall themed party.  With both of these parties (and parties I love going to), I’ve found 4 things that I find important when throwing a party for your guests to enjoy!

1. A clean home – This is kind of obvious, but a clean home sets the mood for a peaceful environment.  Parties can get crazy, so it’s nice to start with an already calm house.  Plus, it shows your guests you care about the state of your home when they come over.

2. Decorations – This is where a party can get expensive if you let it.  If you’re on a budget, I recommend picking 1 or 2 places in your home to hub the main decorations and go all out, instead of tiny little things all around your home.  People are going to notice something concentrated more than tid bits around the house.  My 3 favorite “hubs” are the FOOD table, the DESSERT/COFFEE/DRINK station, and the FIREPLACE.  Below are some examples.

3. Preparations – Prepare everything you can beforehand, so when the guests arrive, you can enjoy the party WITH them.  I’ve been to parties (and hosted) where the host is stressed and pre-occupied with hosting that they don’t even enjoy the party, which makes the guests feel uncomfortable.  My mom used to set out every dish and decoration the night before (with labels of what food went in it), so all she had to do was lay the food out in the serving dishes.  I always think of the Mary and Martha story in the Bible.  Be a Martha BEFORE the party and be a Mary DURING the party.

4. Good Food – This is a personal opinion here, but I LOVE good food at a party.  Plan and simple.  I went to a party one time that had so much food it was overflowing the counters, but I think I liked one thing there.  I was starving when I left.  Make sure the food is good.  I always go over board on food and try to have a variety of what adults and kids (if there) would like. I also try to keep it theme related if I can.  Foods in a crock pot that can serve a lot are always great to keep your budget low (ex. pulled pork sandwiches, chili) and are easy to prepare.  Dessert is really important to me also.  Rarely will I ever have a traditional cake at a party.  I like mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes if I’m going to buy something.  I also like making this super easy cookie cake that ALWAYS is completely wiped from the pan by the end of the party.  You can decorate it to go with any theme.  Who doesn’t like a moist, chocolate chip cookie cake?  

What are your favorite tips when throwing a party?

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