7 Secrets to Hosting the Perfect Holiday Party in Your DC Ranch Home

Whether you’re thinking about buying a home for sale in DC Ranch or you’re already living in this beautiful community, the holidays are coming in hot – and if you’re hosting a party, you can use these seven secrets to make it stress-free and completely enjoyable.

7 Secrets to Hosting the Perfect Holiday Party in Your DC Ranch Home

Hosting a holiday party, whether it’s your first or your fiftieth, can be pretty stressful… but you can use these seven tips to pull off the perfect get-together in your DC Ranch home:

Make one list to rule them all
Cook ahead of time
Stock up on goodies and drinks
Decorate with the unexpected
Think about going buffet-style
Set the mood with music
Plan for kids

#1. Make One List to Rule Them All

Don’t get caught up in list-hype – make one list and keep everything together. (That doesn’t mean you can’t make sub-lists beneath important items!)

Having a list can help you delegate, too. Guests usually don’t mind being asked to contribute in some way – for them, it’s something small, but it can be a huge help to you.

#2. Cook Ahead of Time

Cook soups, stews, quiches and tarts the day before the party to scratch some big to-dos off your list. Prep what you can the day before – you can even go so far as nesting the ham or turkey in your baking pan, mashing potatoes and putting together vegetable or fruit trays.

#3. Stock Up on Goodies and Drinks

During the week before your party, buy twice the snacks and drinks you think you’ll need. There won’t be any awkward moments when you think you have something but you don’t – and your guests will have a constant stream of goodies to keep them occupied. Make sure you have coffee (regular and decaf), hot chocolate and a basket of a variety of teas on-hand, as well as alcoholic beverages if you’re serving them.

#4. Decorate With the Unexpected

The décor is part of the fun at a holiday party, but you don’t have to stick to what everyone else does. Think about adding a big, glass bowl filled with ornaments to the table as a centerpiece, colored jars filled with white, twinkling lights, or use a bare branch decorated with tiny ornaments to add panache to any space. Don’t forget the wreath (or, one of our favorites – a big bow) on the door.

#5. Think About Going Buffet-Style

You don’t have to sit around the table and have a formal dinner if you don’t want to – but even if you do, consider asking guests to serve themselves in the kitchen and bring their plates to the table. That way, you have more room at the table, which helps people feel more relaxed.

#6. Set the Mood With Music

If you don’t have a built-in speaker system, which many DC Ranch homes do, Google Home, Alexa and other personal home assistants can connect to create whole-house music. No luck there, either? That’s fine – pipe low-key holiday music into rooms where people will gather and forget about the others. If you’re playing different music in different rooms, make sure it’s loud enough to hear but quiet enough that it won’t interfere with conflicting tunes.

#7. Plan for Kids

When little ones are joining the fun, make sure you have plenty of coloring books, kids’ movies and other entertainment options on-hand. Kids quickly get bored with adult conversation, and you want them to have fun, too. Think about investing in a few board games, video games or outdoor games they can play when they need to burn off a little energy. If they’re big enough, they can play at neighborhood parks within DC Ranch, too.