Christmas Party Goals
For me, it’s a time for me and my friends to gather together, eat some amazing food, gossip about people who didn’t attend, and drink ungodly amounts of booze because we don’t have to work the next day. It’s the other reason for the season.
But planning an epic holiday hang can be stressful. First there’s finding the right mix of people and making sure you don’t leave anyone out of the invite (which happened to me this year). Next there’s the food and making something – or in some cases, buying something – that everyone will be able to eat. Then you have to get your house in order, and suddenly you find yourself cleaning the baseboards because you suspect people will make some snide comment about a part of your home you completely forget exists. (Um, they won’t and if they do, give them a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and tell them to knock themselves out with cleaning fun.) Finally, it’s actually finding the time to do all of this while juggling an already busy schedule.
Now, does all this stress make me want to cancel my Christmas party and just sit on my couch, watch Love Actually while eating peppermint bark? Absolutely not. Here’s just ways to throw a Christmas get-together without the stress.
Break Down the Cleaning
In the past, I would spend almost an entire day getting my house Christmas party ready and being absolutely exhausted by the end of the night. This year, I broke the cleaning down to a section per day and saved my sanity in the process.
I’m calling it my Christmas miracle.
The Menu
Past Christmas parties would find me in the kitchen, making shrimp scampi or filling manicotti shells. The result was typically delicious but the process made me want to punch all the Food Network chefs in their faces for making it look so easy.
For this holiday party, I’m going white girl basic all the way: charcuterie.
It’s near impossible to screw up charcuterie unless you throw in bologna and Kraft cheese slices still in their plastic wrappers, and even that doesn’t sound half bad. A charcuterie board has something in it for everyone, no matter the dietary needs. Plus, you can Instagram it and people will most likely heart that more than pictures of their own family members.
Encourage BYO
The following is a conversation with a friend that you’ve probably had whenever you’ve thrown a party:
You: Hey, you! Come over [insert date and time] for [insert whatever party it is]!
Friend: I’m in! What can I bring?
You: Just your amazing, wonderful self!
Friend: Aww, thanks! But really, what can I bring?
You: No, no. It’s fine. Just your company is enough.
Chances are when that friend arrived, he or she listened to your direction but you most likely thought to yourself, Cheap asses couldn’t even bring a bottle of Charles Shaw? You know why they didn’t bring a bottle of Two Buck Chuck? Because you told them not to because we are conditioned to say that.
Asking friends to bring something – drinks, appetizers, even dessert – isn’t tacky. What’s tacky is if you invite your friends and ask them to bring drinks or food, and you provide absolutely nothing. But you’re most likely doing that, and that’s why it’s perfectly fine to ask friends to help contribute. What’s even better is if any of those friends contribute anything wrapped in bacon. Automatic invite to next year’s party.
The DJ
By this point in the holiday season, I am over Christmas music. We get it, Mariah: all you want for Christmas is some guy who knows to stand by your good side for photo ops. Even listening to Madonna’s “Santa Baby” gets on my last nerve. Why are you waiting for some fat man to slide down chimney in the middle of the night, which is not at all creepy. Just get that shit for yourself.
But even I know that a Christmas party isn’t complete without Christmas music, and my saving grace is Pandora’s Hipster Holidays Radio.
Artists like Death Cab for Cutie and Sufjan Stevens give their takes on classic Christmas carols without making you want to stab your eardrums. The music is your typical folk, coffeehouse rock, which means you can still play it and be an active listener in party conversation.
Plus, they play She & Him in heavy rotation, and it makes me imagine that Zooey Deschanel is actually at my house and we’re totally best friends for life.
That’s just some of my party advice for all of you short on time but not on holiday spirit. How are you celebrating the holidays this year?
