There’s no doubt the festive season seriously fills up your calendar. With so many celebrations going on at once it can be hard to make the event your hosting stand out. It’s every party girl’s dream to be the unforgettable event of the season, and we have the ultimate guide to follow to make that happen.
She’s danced for the Queen, performed in the Opera, escorted Cindy Crawford to Olympic President Jacque Rogges’ private toilette, staged a celebrity gala on New York’s Rockefeller Ice Rink and had to graciously keep David Beckham and Lord Mayor Boris Johnson apart in Beijing.
The Hermès Silk Ball, the Prix De Marie Claire spectacles and a couple of Olympic Games are no bid deal for Katerina Pitsikas, founder and events producer of Kat & Co events company.
So, who better to guide you through the dos and don’ts for making your end of year event extra special?
Image via pinterest
START WITH A BANG!
There’s no point in wasting time warming an event up with ‘background’ music, bright lights and canapés. I say make the most of every moment. Your house is a “venue” tonight, the hottest bar or restaurant in your suburb, so start with the best and keep it going. Get a great music playlist from beginning to end, turn the music up, dim the lights and set the mood from the moment guests arrive, so there’s high energy and impact from the moment they step into your house! Tea light candles, great music and fun drinks always set the mood.
THE RIGHT GUEST LIST
Without a doubt one of the most important ingredients in hosting an unforgettable event is getting an interesting mix of guests. You know how terrible it is when you go to a friend’s for dinner and the guest list just doesn’t gel. Take the time to curate your guest list. Art direct the table or room so loud and quiet guests can easily mingle. Keep it fun, change it up and encourage your guests to mix and mingle. Guests often forget that they have a role too at your party – that is to appreciate the effort you’ve gone to and make it fun.
BE GENEROUS
It’s an effort for people, especially with children, to get organised and go out sometimes so you really need to make it worth their while – and yours. Make sure you treat them with the same level of “hosting” that you’d hope they treat you, make sure there is always abundant food and drink from the get go. Forget the tricked up cocktails and fanciful canapés. Keep it simple and generous with crowd pleasers and party favourites and make that extra effort to surprise and delight guests with surprising favourites.
ENJOY YOUR OWN PARTY
Being a fabulous host means being prepared. There is nothing worse than a host that is always in the kitchen, running around and nowhere to be found. You are the host of the party and your guests need your energy to help them mix and mingle, keep things boiling and keep the fun on track. Plan your event so that you can also have a great time. Your guests want to enjoy your company too.
A simple way to enable this is to hire a few friendly bar staff to help serve drinks, wash up, and leave your place as mess free as possible for when you finally wake up the next morning. This is not an expensive option and well worth the effort.
DO THE UNEXPECTED
If you are hosting friends and family at home for Christmas or New Year’s do something unexpected. Instantly break the ice and get the party started. Simple games, crazy name tags, novelty ways of getting in or out of the party, hosting different stages in different areas, all adds to the vibe of your event.
ADD A PERSONAL TOUCH
And most importantly, they’re there for you, so do something personal that you know each guest will like. Add their favourite songs to the playlist, make sure you have their favourite drink on ice, the quirky food item they love, it’s the extra thought, the simple details, which are often the most remembered.
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Feature image via pinterest