Simple Holiday Entertaining

I saw an ad for Black Friday the other day and it made me realize that all those holiday parties, get togethers, cookie parties, and holiday entertaining are right around the corner. I feel like it was just last year when I was buying gifts and wrapping them like a mad woman and here we are again. J In all honesty though, I LOVE this time of year and I especially love attending events and hosting holiday enterining.  I am a “go big or go home” type person when it comes to hosting (Aaron hates it), but sometimes you just need something to be easy and yet, still fabulous on a time crunch.

I know a lot of people like to host holiday entertaining gatherings, but feel compelled to make it amazing and elaborate so they don’t. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. I love this spread that some of my blogger gal pals put together with easy pre-made appetizers, an easy boxed cake (with a secret ingredient) and delicious beverages. It just goes to show that a ton of planning, money, etc. doesn’t have to be involved to be a great party, it’s more about who you’re with.

Today, I’ve teamed up with Diet Coke to share simple holiday entertaining tips with y’all so that you can appear to be the “hostess with the mostest” even if you feel like a hot mess. 🙂

Holiday Entertaining – Prior to the Party:

1. Organization is key. Make sure you know how many people you’re planning for, what time guests with start arriving, the music you’ll play, what your budget is, etc. I make lists for everything and know in my head how I’ll set the table up, what I need to buy etc. It seems so simple, but if you take a moment to prep your mind, you’ll feel 100% better the day of.
2. Prep as much as you can prior to the day of. I clean, prep what food I can, pick up a bouquet of flowers, arrange furniture, etc. a bit each day leading up the party. Even if you only have 30 minutes free, it can make a huge difference the day of your event.
3. Don’t feel like everything has to be gourmet! There is no shame in picking up some store bought goodies or frozen foods. No one will know. Grab a variety of 3-4 items that are sure to be crowd pleasers.  Boxed cake for the win!

Holiday Entertaining – The day of:

1. Ambiance. Set the tone of your event with lit candles and music. This makes a huge difference.
2. Embrace the imperfect. Don’t stress about making everything perfect, in fact, everything should be slightly imperfect so guests feel comfortable.
3. Set the drinks out. Sure, it’s nice to be able to play hostess and offer someone a drink. I recommend this, but sometimes you just get caught up in chit chat, prep, etc. Make sure drinks are where people can see them and also make sure to have a variety of alcoholic and nonalcoholic choices to choose from (preferably Diet Coke 🙂 ).
4. Relax. At this point, what’s done is done. Remember, that as the hostess you set the tone for the party. You might as well enjoy it, have a cocktail and enjoy!

Of course frozen vs. homemade, alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic, a party still costs money despite if it’s simple or extravagant. That’s why I’ve teamed up with some amazing ladies to offer someone $500 to host your own holiday party! And guess what, if you still don’t want to host, just treat yourself to some Diet Coke! Head over to Instagram to read the post and enter. It’s the perfect time to spread a little holiday CHEER!

Happy Friday eve y’all. Remember to treat yourself!

XX