Calling over your friends and family for a holiday event or party is always a good idea. You get to spend time with your loved ones during the holidays or otherwise. You all catch up with each other’s lives and make plenty of new memories. If the gathering is a holiday festivity, such as the Chinese New Year, you have to account for the traditional bits as well. These may include setting up festive lanterns or colorful lights. 

However, hosting such a gathering can be pretty exhausting. You want everything to go perfectly without draining yourself out. Entertaining and hosting your guests can be stressful, especially if you do everything last minute. You have to prepare the food, clean, shop, decorate, and more. It will almost always take you more time than you would expect. Thus, to be on the safe side, you should always prepare in advance and give yourself more time than you would anticipate. To help you plan for any event, here are six tips that will help you prepare in advance.

The first thing you must do is de-clutter your house. You do not want anyone falling over your shoes, clothes, or bags. Apart from tripping hazards, there might also be stuff you do not have room to store but cannot leave out either. For this, you can keep your items in a spare room, but if you do not have one, no need to fret! Depending on your locality and region, you can search for different storage and warehouse options. For example, you can rent out a storage unit nearby. You can avail different types of storage depending on how many goods you want to store and based on the mini storage price each facility offers. De-cluttering makes your house look more presentable and neater. Getting rid of unnecessary items will also allow your guests to have more space to enjoy themselves. You can also make more room by moving the furniture closer to the walls.

Once you get rid of unwanted items, start cleaning up your house. You will want to put extra effort into cleaning up the space to accommodate your guests. It will include vacuuming and mopping the floors and dusting the furniture with microfiber cloths. You also need to fluff up cushions and clean the tables and countertops to ensure plenty of space for food items. If you want more advice on tidying up, you can search for some cleaning hacks online. The room should be spotless, so your guests do not feel unwelcome and less valued. While cleaning up, you must also consider fragile and precious items. If something is easily breakable, you should store it in a safe spot away from the party so that nothing gets ruined. Even if your guests are careful, accidents occur, which is why it is best to be safe than sorry. 

Most of the time, at events, people like to stand. However, you do not want to have inadequate seating arrangements, forcing your guests to stand. Thus, it is essential to have plenty of space for people to make themselves comfortable. To create more walking space, you can move your furniture close to the walls and add pillows on the floor to create a cozy seating arrangement. However, if you want a more formal ambiance, you can add benches in the room and decorate them with fancy sheets and blankets. You need to ensure that the seats are comfortable for your guests and that extra pillows or blankets are available for an added level of relaxation.

Of course, guests need to use the restroom. Hence, you must remember to clean your bathroom and stock it with essentials. You do not want your guests to enter a bathroom that has a foul ador, is unhygienic, or dirty. To clean up, you can wipe the bathroom floor and clean the toilet with bleach and other antibacterials. You must also ensure enough toilet rolls, fresh towels, antibacterial wipes, and handwash are available. You can also place an air freshener and some faux plants or flowers to enhance your bathroom’s look and give it a fresh and clean smell.

Food and drinks are the most important part of any event. You can focus on making traditional festive Pan-Asian foods, such as wontons and spring rolls. Making something that you are familiar with will prevent you from making a mess or blunders. You can also opt for something easy to eat so that your guests do not get their hands or clothes dirty. You can serve food the old-fashioned way by lowering the tables and surrounding cushions around the space. However, ensure that you have set the table the night before so that you do not end up wasting time doing things last minute. It would help if you stocked up on snacks such as chips, dry fruits, and crackers on the side for your guests to munch on while mingling. For drinks, you can set up a mini bar so that people help themselves or keep it light and simple with a few bottles of champagne and classic herbal teas. However, be sure to have plenty of glasses and ice on the side. 

Adding decorative pieces to your home will widely enhance the room’s look and vibe. For example, you can add fresh flowers, which will make the whole room feel fresh and welcoming. They are also simple to decorate. All you have to do is place a few vases on the tables and around the room where needed. Apart from flowers, you can also add candles. They will add a nice glow and warmth to the room, giving it a more vibrant and festive feel. Lastly, you can also add paintings and wall-hanging décor as decorative pieces. 

Prepping for any event is not as problematic as many people think. All you need to do is develop a plan in advance and, you are good to go. While some people may find hosting fun, others find it stressful. However, with the help of these tips and tricks, it will be a breeze. As long as you prepare and organize everything, you will be good to go. After all the hard work and effort, you deserve to have fun at your party too. Planning everything will also give you time to dress up in style without having to rush through. It will help you be stress-free and allow you and your guests to enjoy an unforgettable event.