With the pandemic slowly unfolding, we’ve noticed that at-home celebrations are back in bloom, bigger and better than ever before! Below is a list of our favorite tips to creating a stress-free day that you (the host) can actually enjoy!
1) Start creating a playlist one month before your event!
Create a playlist on your music streaming source, name it, then put it aside. You job for the next month is extremely simple: every time you hear a good song (whether it pops in your head, on Spotify, the radio or a commercial…) simply search it and add it to the playlist. That’s it! By the time your date nears you’ll have a fully stocked playlist to last the hours of your event without the stress of trying to create one the night before. Last-minute playlists always end up too short or playing songs that don’t fit like “baby shark” or your go-to tune when you’re sad.. no one wants to hear that. The radio is great, but commercials really ruin the mood too – so be prepared by starting early! It’ll be one less thing you’ll have to worry about come the day of your event because your playlist will already be there waiting for you.
2) Clean at least one week before your event!
We all do our best to make sure the house is spotless before company arrives and waiting until last minute doesn’t make any difference on cleanliness. What we’ve found works best for us is tackling the heavy stuff at least one week before. We’re talking about scrubbing the tub, shampooing the carpet’s, grooming the dog, reorganizing the garage, cleaning the inside of the fridge (when was the last time you did that?!) and so on. One week goes by pretty quick especially when you’re hosting an event. To some, it may seem too early to clean but really it’s only a few days sooner than when you would have began the cleaning process anyway. Things come up, life happens, you don’t want to run out of time because you were stuck at work or your kids rained-out soccer game was rescheduled to the morning of your party. How dirty can your already-clean house really get in a week? The only “cleaning” you’ll have to do the morning of your event is make the bed and wipe down the kitchen counters, both of which take a lot less time than everything you completed the week before.
3) Set up and prep the night before!
Don’t wait for the morning-of to dig out the dusty folding table encased in spider webs from the basement. Just get it over with the night before and take your time so no one gets hurt (or annoyed). The night before your event is also the perfect time to prepare your apps and store them in the fridge so they are ready to go. We also recommend collecting your serving platters from the back of the cabinet and giving them a good rinse so they too are available when needed. It may seem like a lot of work digging those out but at the end of the day that’s what they’re for, right? They’re cute, stylish and made for entertaining… use them! You’ll rest better the night before knowing that everything is done and all you have to do the next morning is get yourself ready (and the kids, of course). The work put in the night before will also help lead to a good nights rest which is ALWAYS a bonus.
4) Accept the help!
Anyone who reaches out ahead of time asking “what can I bring?” please, give them an answer. If someone took the time to ask you, they mean it – and they are probably the type that doesn’t like to walk in empty handed anyway so accepting their help will make both of your lives easier. Pick a category and let them choose from there. You can assign one person an appetizer, one a dessert, one a side dish, etc.
5) Put the food where you want your guests to be!
Want to keep your guests out of the kitchen? Put the appetizers in the living room, outside on the patio, on the basement bar, or all of the above. This way you or your Host Helper* can finish preparing dinner without anyone getting in the way. Same rule applies for the booze.
6) Hire a Tend2You Host Helper!
Tend2You is a service-only company known for helping moms, wives, and other DIY lovers throughout the Chicagoland area. We arrive at your home the morning of your event to assist with set up and food prep so you can finish getting ready in time to greet your guests. During your event we pass apps, cocktails, and serve dinner simply so you don’t have to. At the end of the night we’ll collect all trash, put away the dishes and help with the break down process. A spotless kitchen is always guaranteed and we’ll leave your home looking as though nothing even happened. You can choose the start time and end time of our shift to better-fit your budget as all quotes are customized to each customers needs. (BONUS: we even stop at the store on our way over for bags of ice and any other last-minute requests!)
For more information please visit www.tend2you.com
