Have you ever felt overwhelmed with all the little details of planning, styling, and setting up a party?

I mean if you’ve thrown any party ever you’ve probably felt that way.

Well, if you follow me on Instagram, you got a sneak peak at how today’s blog post can help make your next party a stress free one!

The Four Things to Focus On For a Stress Free Party

It all boils down to doing just four things.  That’s right, only focusing on these four things you’ll be able to still have a great party and enjoy it because you won’t be stressing over a bunch of little details.

Are you ready to find out what those four things are?

One Focal Area

Don’t stress out over decorating your entire home for the party.  That’s focusing on way too many things.

Designate one area to be the focal point.  And then only decorate that area.

So how do you pick the focal area for your party?

First, determine where your party will congregate.

For an outside party, focus your decor on your patio or backyard.

If it’s inside, I can almost guarantee most people will congregate around the food, so decorate your kitchen or where the food is going to be staged.

For kids parties, focus the decor in an area where the kids will be playing.

A second way to focus on one area is to make a backdrop.  You can use the backdrop for a photo booth or the background of your dessert table.

Thirdly, and one of my favorite places to focus the party decor is on the party entrance.  That could be your front door, front porch, your driveway or sidewalk leading up to your house.

It’s also fun to decorate the foyer or entrance to your home and really hit your guests over the head with the theme of the party.  Then they can enjoy the party in the rest of your house.

The best thing about only decorating one area for your party?  There’s only one area to clean up!

Bigger Is Better

I think one of the things that’s the most stressful during party planning is all the small details.

Typically you get overwhelmed with everything that has to be done you forget about the little things.

You may have had good intentions with all those little water bottle or straw labels, but they become last minute things that usually don’t happen because you’re focused on the bigger things that have to be done or else the party won’t happen at all.  You know like food.

So my second piece of advice for a stress free party is to not even plan all those little things.  Focus on the big stuff.

Bigger decor is a great way to make things bigger.  Instead of a bunch of small decor items around your entire house, put them all together for a bigger impact.

Want to decorate with a certain item for the them of your party?  Why not make that item bigger than life.  Have a giant sized crown cut out for a princess party, or bigger balloons.

Editing the Menu

Feeding everyone at your party can always be stressful especially if cooking isn’t your forte.

Edit your menu to provide one complete meal that’s stress free.

What do you need for a complete meal?  Just focus on a protein, some greens or a vegetable, and a starch.

If you stick to those three things you’ll have a meal that is satisfying to everyone without having to plan or cook an elaborate menu.

Try asking your guests to bring a dish in one of the categories we already talked about (protein, vegetable, starch).  Giving them that guidance will help them narrow down what they’re bringing and it helps to make sure you have something in each category.

If you don’t want to deal with the food at all, just cater it in.  You don’t have to get fancy or expensive either.

There are tons of fast casual restaurants that do catering.  Chick-fil-a (a favorite of ours), Zoe’s Kitchen, Chipotle, Qdoba, Noodles & Company just to name a few.

One Game or Activity

It’s always nice to have some sort of game or activity for your guests to do at your party.  This is almost necessary at any kid party.

If you don’t do something structured, the kids will destroy your house playing with toys.

Want to know my stress free way to do an activity?  Pick only one that doesn’t require much instruction or help.

Think of activities that require a couple minutes of instruction in the beginning, then the guests go and do the activity on their own.

For kids parties a scavenger hunt is my favorite way to let the kids do an activity that is virtually unsupervised. Win! Win!

Are You Feeling Less Stressed?

Does thinking of your party in only those four ways make it seem less stressful to host?

There are still multiple things to plan in each of these categories, but keeping them in mind when planning your next party will help you to realize what’s most important.

The most important thing is to enjoy the celebration and people in your home, not if each individual piece of candy has a Paw Patrol sticker on it.

Happy party planning!