Good morning friends! How was your Valentine’s Day and weekend? We enjoyed putting the February party plan to use and having a yummy meal after the kids went to bed. Plus, we had a fun somewhat impromptu dinner party Saturday and a lazy family Sunday. It was a very good weekend.
Today I’ve got a really helpful post for those of you that stress about planning a party and getting it all done in time.
I recently asked my Facebook group if they were ever a frazzled, stressed mess on party day and had a ton of people said party day stress is a totally real thing.
I know I’ve frantically had to get ready for parties before and it’s not a fun feeling. One time I was literally still in my scrubby sweats when guests were arriving. Not a good look.
The good news is that all of that stress can go away with some party prep. So today I hope to give you a bunch of ideas and ways to streamline your party day by doing things ahead of time.
There are so many things you can spread out over time leading up to your party so that you’re spending the party day mostly just assembling things and getting food out.
Wouldn’t it be a dream to have everything decorated, food done, and just waiting for your guests?
It’s totally possible with lots of party prep, and I’ve even done myself a few times. *pats herself on her back
How To Party Prep Food Ahead So You’re Not Cooking on Party Day
Food is almost always the reason I don’t feel ready for a party. I’m usually still trying to cook something or am worried about how to hide all the dishes and clean the kitchen before people come over.
The good news is that there are a ton of ways to prep your party food ahead of time. Keep reading to see which ones I recommend.
First, take a look at your party menu and see what things can be done days in advance. Here’s a list below of food that can be prepped in advance, some even a week ahead of time.
- Chopping vegetables/fruit that will be eaten or ingredients for recipes.
- When making a cake you can freeze the baked cake a week in advance. Then ice it and decorate a day in advance.
- Cutting up cheese, meat, bread that may be needed for a grazing board.
- Mixing dips together, do this several days in advance so the dip has time to deepen the flavor.
- Cooking all the parts of a recipe and then putting them together in the pan or oven on the day of the party.
Next, figure out what things you can cook the night or day before and then just reheat in the oven right before the party.
And if you really want to show your party menu who’s boss, bust out your crockpot (I had this one before we moved to England and miss it) and make it do all the work for you.
I would recommend though to prep all of your ingredients in the crockpot well beforehand. Just put the whole crockpot insert into the fridge until it’s time to pop it in and turn the crockpot on.
The best situation is that most of your food is prepped and all you have to do on party day is put things out on platters or reheat them.
Keep yourself from having to slave over the stove as much as possible.
Another, in my opinion, critical thing you can prep ahead of time for food service is setting out your food buffet the day before your party.
It’s my tried and true trick to set all of my serving platters I plan to use out on the counter, table, or wherever the food will be and labeling them with post-its or your food labels.
This is really helpful if you have to ask someone to put food on platters for you. This trick helps them know where to put everything.
How To Decorate Ahead of Party Day
The easiest thing you can do before your party is decorate for it.
If you’re hosting at home, there is absolutely no reason not to have the party decorated days before your party. If you are hosting at a venue or another location, you may be bound by your time in the space to decorate.
Would a post about how to decorate at a venue be something you’re interested in? Let me know if the comments and I’ll work on that for you.
Ok, back to hosting at your home.
If you’re planning to craft anything for your party. Start weeks in advance. It will probably take you longer than you plan and you’ll need the extra time. I know I usually do!
My biggest piece of advice when decorating for a party is to have a main focal point. Pick one area and go all in. The entrance to your party, the dessert table, the dining table, the photo booth, the gift table are all great areas to focus your decor. Here are a few of mine.
This makes so much more of an impact than a bunch of small stuff scattered around everywhere.
Decorate your focal area a day or two before your party. Even balloon arches will last for over a week! And getting them up earlier means you’ll get to enjoy them longer!
Hopefully, if you’ve started assembling or crafting your decor weeks in advance all you have to do a day or two before party day is hang everything up.
Most decor will last a day or two without looking sad and deflated. Just be sure to use a good securing device, so you’re not having to take time out of party day to hang things back up.
My favorite ways to hang things are with glue dots and painters tape. They never fail me, and the painters tape never takes the paint off the wall.
The Goal
The goal of all of this party prep is not to make the party more work. It’s to make party day way less stressful.
It’s so much easier to be excited about a party when on the day all you have to do is set stuff out and mix up a few dishes with prepped ingredients.
I promise you’ll have more time on party day if you take a few minutes each day leading up to the party to prepare for it.
Spend party day putting the finishing touches on the cake, the food, and your space. Not slaving away running around trying to do it all at once.
What Happens When You Don’t Party Prep?
So you’ve given it your best effort to make things ahead of time and be ready before your party starts, but you’ve fallen short.
Or maybe you are a complete mess and still have a ton of work to do when people show up.
Trust me I’ve been there, see the beginning of this post and me in my sweatpants when guests arrived.
So there are lots of ways to still have a great party even if you have a ton of work left to do.
First, you need to prioritize. Start with figuring out a few things you can just not do for the party?
Toss them out the window, not literally, but come to terms with the fact that you won’t be having that item at your party.
Next, and this is the biggest way to get it all done. Figure out what things you can ask your guests, family, or friends to help you with.
Can you have someone pick something up on their way to your house? Can you ask the first guest to finish stirring the thing you’re cooking or put the food on platters?
Use your guests to help, they will want to I promise.
And lastly, realize that if nothing is perfectly the way you wanted, the best thing you can do is make sure everyone is having fun.
Maybe that means you throw an impromptu dance party. Or have fun taking everyone’s picture. Or you pour everyone a little more to drink.
Take care of your guests and make them feel welcomed and they will never notice you didn’t hang the party banner or the flowers weren’t arranged perfectly.
I hope these tips help you to prep for your party the next time you host. And if I’ve given you even a little encouragement to host even if you’re not prepared at all I will have done my job today.
Making those connections is so much more important than a perfectly styled party.
Now go out there and confidently prep for your party!
Click here to see other ways to have a stress free party and get help with party prep.
- Stress Free Party Ideas
- Party Prep Help and Checklists
- Get a Party Ready Home
- Stress Free Thanksgiving Tips that apply to lots of different parties
- How to Make Your Guests Feel Welcome
