We all enjoy being invited to a Christmas party or gathering but do we realize how much planning and work goes into these events? First of all there was someone who spent a lot of time thinking, planning, and working long before the party started.

Let’s look at how we can plan a large Christmas party. I would suggest that you get a friend or relative to help you plan so you have someone to brain storm ideas with.

Ask yourself some questions. When will we have the party? How many people will be invited? Will we have the party at our house or do we need to rent a facility? What kind of food will be served? Will you get the guests or relatives to help bring the food or will it be catered? Will there be entertainment for the adults or children?

First of all count up the amount of guests or relatives that you will invite. Can you host that many at your house or will you need to rent a facility? The nice thing about having it at a facility is that you do not have the work of getting your house all polished for the party.

If you decide to rent a facility then the next step is to check out what your options are. Some places can hold up to 500 people and other places will nicely accommodate 75 people. Ask friends and family to suggest places. I like to check with churches as there are many of them that rent out their kitchen, halls, and gyms. When you call these places make sure you keep a list of each place, their phone number, how many people their facility holds, the rental cost, and if it is available for the date you want to hold the party. If you find a nice facility with a good rental cost and that would suit your needs and date, ask them if they will hold that date for you for a few days. It is discouraging to find a few days later when you are ready to reserve,  that the date you wanted has been spoken for. Another good idea is to plan several months in advance. The Christmas season is a busy time and if you wait to December to plan you probably will have a hard time finding a facility.

Once you know where and when the party will be, you need to start thinking about the food. Do you want to get the food catered or will you organize it yourself? If it is a family gathering then I suggest that you plan the menu and then contact them and ask them to help bring the food. For our Christmas gathering of 70 people we wrote up the menu and then attached names to each of the food items needed. This menu was then emailed to all the family members and they were to reply if they could or could not bring what they were asked to bring.

If you plan to provide all the food yourself then you will have a lot more work. I enjoy cooking but I still find that it makes it easier if you can get someone to make some of the food for you. You could get someone or some place to make the meat, main dish, rolls, salad, or dessert. Make what you are good at and get someone to do the rest.

If you are having just an evening party you may not need a lot of entertainment. But if there are children then make sure they have something to do. Have games ready to play or put someone in charge of doing something with the children. If it is a whole day event then you will need to plan for a lot more entertainment for both the adults and the children. Write out the plans for the day and let the guests know. We all like the idea of knowing what time things will happen but even more so for the children who will look forward to the candy piña at 4 o’clock.

This is a very basic party plan but hopefully it will help you out if you are planning a party. Just remember not to get yourself so stressed out over the planning that you can’t enjoy the party yourself.

What are you tips for planning a large party?