So You're Hosting...

Christmas. Festivities. Parties. Friends. 

There's lots of them..

You live in the biggest apartment...

Yeah. 

You know where this is going. The annual Christmas get together with all your friends and family is going to be at YOUR house this time.

Brilliant.

Lots of cooking, decorating and most of all, cleaning!

It doesn't have to be all bad though. Just make sure you plan well ahead before the event and hopefully, things should go smoothly.

I had the dreaded "hosting" title last Christmas. I panicked for what seemed like months but I only found out about 3 weeks before that everyone wanted to come to mine!

Enter panic attack.

Rule one I would say is make sure you know how many people are intending to come. Even if they don't all end up coming, it's much better to have cooked too much than too little. Nothing worse than Jim not getting a full sized portion at the end of the table.

The next thing is to just calm down. It's just cooking after all, you do it for yourself all the time. Just multiply what you cook by a few numbers and it should make you feel less intimidated. There is also no shame in asking a few trusted friends to come over a little earlier and help you out. You can get started on the wine then too. That's bound to settle some nerves!

The one thing not to forget? Decoration! Make the place pop. If it looks, feels and smells Christmas then you have the main part of your evening nailed. Make your guests feel warm and comfortable and make sure they have a good time. You'll relax more and have a good time then too! (Plus the wine will most definitely be helping by now)

Now let your night begin. Let the festivities start, the crackers bang and the poppers explode as your night turns into the success of the year. And don't forget to toast to the poor sod who is hosting New Year!

don't forget to check out these great items from Next either! They will really help you make the most out of your dinner and make you the belle of the ball as well as the host!

My personal favorite is the Glimmer Espresso Set £14 (http://bit.ly/Vm0WJf)

 

It's really cute and will work wonderfully for the festive season. Plus, everyone likes a little glitter this time of year.

Try not to over complicate the table either, you want to be able to see your guests and you also don't want to take the attention away from the beautiful food you've just slaved over for hours.

Your main attraction should be the food.

I hope this post has helped somewhat and you're ready to go forward in your hosting duties.

Happy Holidays everyone! And good luck!

<3