Holidays are prime party season. SWAY is hooking you up during the busiest time of the year with some DYI tips. Or you can always give yourself a gift by calling upon our team to execute your very own winter wonderland.
Choose a chill space.
Consider trading the stress of hosting your holiday shindig out of your house in exchange for an unpredictable venue that may be more accessible than you think. Don’t be afraid to ditch cocoa by the fire for places like Lucky Strike Lanes® with bowling and cocktails. Or if you’re an urban dweller, perhaps your complex has an inexpensive recreation space where you can take advantage of entertaining and making clean up a cinch. Or if your favorite restaurant/bar has a back room, they’ll usually take the “more, the merrier” attitude to drum up some extra holiday buzz and bucks.
Engage your guests.
From office parties to family functions, the holidays are packed full of endless invites. And let’s face it, keeping up with all of these holiday happenings can be just plain exhausting. Do something off the wall to break the holiday party monotony and spice it up with a fun theme or twist. Consider quirky tie-ins like an “ugly Christmas sweater” party or an ornament exchange. Or how about a Santa Claus pub crawl where everyone dresses as Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick?!
Invites: doing it digitally.
Okay, there are tons of ways to get the word out. And most of us don’t have time for old -fashioned ways like smoke-signals or calligraphy invitations. Today it’s all about doing it digitally. Email invites are a fab way to hit everyone at once. There’s also services like evite.com that will set up your event and RSVPs to make tabulating who is attending and who needs a reminder super-easy. But hey, who has ALL their friends’ email addresses? There’s always Facebook.
Wrap it up.
Gift exchanges are the way to go for those of us budget-conscious peeps that want to keep things fair. Gift exchanges are a great alternative that can be totally interactive and fun. Get creative and theme up your exchange. Instead of picking out a present for everyone on your list, request that your guests supply their favorite board game or bottle of wine. And most importantly, setting a spending limit can help to even the playing field and inspire creative shopping with items ranging from Snuggies® to potted plants. Plus, you can Google tons of fun gift-giving exchange games online.
Décor on a dime.
Whether you’re planning a holiday get together at home or at a special venue, décor is always an exciting way to dress up your space and set the mood, but don’t let it overwhelm you. Some of the best décor ideas are found in resourceful items that you may already have hiding in your closet. For centerpieces you can add just about anything inside tall oversized plain glass vases to create different looks. Adding pine cones and holly berries with a few glass ornaments can create a classic, elegant look. Or go fresh by adding fruits and vegetables for pops of color. Or get totally kooky on your tabletop and display ornaments that won’t fit on your tree. And when in doubt, there are a million different uses for twinkle lights.
Get your holiday grub on.
Hiring caterers or ordering from your favorite restaurant makes life so much easier. Did you know that Pinkberry® caters?! Or if your budget’s more pigs-in-a-blanket then Pierre’s French Cuisine, we suggest originality! Wrap those piggies like a present! Use food coloring in the dough! Sharing S’mores, fondue, or edible arrangements makes for a fun icebreaker. For drinks, check out your favorite online site or peruse your favorite grocery store where there are tons of holiday cocktail recipe concoctions dangling from your favorite booze or listed on the back of the bottle. And if you can trade favors with a friend to play bartender, even better! That takes the task off of your hands so you can socialize. Otherwise, we suggest you have a couple signature cocktails that you pre-make so you’re not stuck mixing drinks instead of mingling.
Create your seasonal soundtrack.
Depending on how formal you want to get, there are many options. A piano player or other musician will add a touch of elegance, while a deejay makes your urban event seem even hipper. If these ideas aren’t in your price range, an Ipod playlist works! Also, consider there are thousands of versions of most holiday standards, performed by a myriad of artists, past and present. For a cool video element, seasonal movies are usually a hit. If you’re particularly adept and tech-savvy at finding relevant video clips and burning them to a disc, that would not only be rad, but producing copies would make for a great take-home gift.
Presentation is everything.
When you’re preparing your packages think outside the box (pun intended) for creative gift-wrapping ideas. Consider the Sunday Comics as wrapping paper or go glamorous and use your favorite fabric. Instead of using bags, find boxes or containers that the gift getter can also hang on to and re-use in the future. This is also a great way to go green this festive season.
Getting personal.
No matter what or why you celebrate, the holidays are meant to be special so take a little extra time to add those distinctive touches that create memorable events.
Whether it’s something as simple as having swizzle sticks that match your theme, or having a paint-your-own-dreidel station, or having an impromptu "Santa Baby" performance a la Mean Girls with some of your friends to unexpectedly entertain your crowd. Take homes like ornaments or even a card with a recipe for something you served at the party will send your guests away with warm fuzzies.
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