Happy/Graceful Hostess Tips: Expect Things to Go Wrong

This first hostess tip falls into both the Happy Hostess (planning before the party) and Graceful Hostess (at the party) categories.

My current supervisor introduced me to the concept of expecting things to go wrong, which I found to be absolutely liberating and life changing. I'm a super-detailed planner by nature, and when a kink would show up in my plans, it would completely throw me off. "How can things be perfect now that XYZ has gone wrong?!" I would get so frustrated in these cases and turn into a frazzled mess.

When you expect that things will go wrong in your party planning and at the party, you're more mentally prepared to deal with these kinks quickly and effectively. These kinks are no longer party DISASTERS; they are simply something minor that didn't go according to plan. No biggie! This concept is absolutely critical to being a calm, composed, and graceful hostess.

To give you a recent example, my husband and I were hosting a casual cook-out, and for desert I made these super rich Ghirardelli brownies with Symphony chocolate bars layered in between. (They are killer, by the way!!!) I'm always paranoid I'll burn brownies because you can't tell by looking at them because they are "burnt" colored already, and as a result, I have a tendency to under cook them. With all of the other meal preparations, I hadn't had a chance to cut into the brownies until about 15 minutes before our guests were to arrive. They were super gooey and looked like brown slime on the bottom. Even though gooey brownies are still delicious, these did not look appetizing in the least.

Instead of freaking out, running to the store to buy something else, and risk being an absent hostess, I took a deep breath and tried to figure out how I could quickly salvage the situation. I had purchased some whipped cream to go with the brownies, so I quickly whipped up a brownie trifle by layering this with the ooey-gooey brownies. I solved the problem and got my kitchen tidied back up in 15 miutes.

I didn't dwell on the problem, and as a result, I was able to enjoy our company all night. The guests never even knew something went wrong. The end result looked more impressive than the original dessert presentation I had planned, and as an added bonus, it ended up tasting really similar to my favorite dessert at Carrabba's, which is the Chocolate Dream. I would have never tried making this trifle, but I will definitely be making it again.

My point is this. You can hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. But even then, you can't forsee all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. The best you can do is mentally prepare for the unthinkable, so you can handle any kinks that happen before and during your party with style and grace.



The Belly Feathers Party Blog has moved! Visit the new location at BellyFeathersParty.blogspot.com for more handmade party ideas.

How to Host a Party? Two New Hostess Tips Series

Planning a party seems like it should be fun and easy, and it definitely is once you know the right way to host a flawless event. To help you do just that, I'm going to start two new post series that I'll update from time to time.

One series will be called Happy Hostess Tips. These will focus solely on party planning ideas to help you cover all of the details upfront and prevent you from becoming a frazzled, stressed-out mess at your party. Let these serve as your party planning template.

The other series will be called Graceful Hostess Tips, which will share insight on what to do during an party to make guests feel welcome, relaxed, and appreciated.

There is definitely an art to coming across as a natural-born hostess, and as I work to hone my own skills in this area, I'll share what has worked for me.



The Belly Feathers Party Blog has moved! Visit the new location at BellyFeathersParty.blogspot.com for more handmade party ideas.

The Ultimate Guide for Hosting a Party: The Art & Craft of Entertaining

Have you ever wondered how to be a good hostess, exactly how to host a great party, or maybe just need party planning ideas? If so, then the book you must read is The Art and Craft of Entertaining by Kimberly Kennedy. I got this book when it was first released in 2005, and it is still my favorite go-to book on party planning.



This book guides you through detail by detail on

• coming up with a party planning schedule (day by day and hour by hour on the day of),
  
• creating invitations,
  
• planning a party menu,
  
• setting a beautiful table, and
  
• blossoming into a wonderful hostess - anything you might need to know about entertaining with style and grace.

It even includes advanced party hostess tips, such as

• how to quickly clean your house for unexpected company,
• what to have in your pantry at all times for impromptu entertaining, and
  
• the correct way to react if a guest breaks your most beloved possession.
  

In case you're wondering on the last one, tell the guest it's not a big deal, and then cry your eyes out once all the guests are gone. I love her comments on what to have in your "entertaining arsenal", too, and can only imagine how much fun it would be to peek into her personal collection.

Veteran and beginner hostesses alike will enjoy discovering the wonderful and unique handmade party planning ideas featured. In the book, Kimberly Kennedy plans multiple different parties including a cocktail party, a dinner party, and a baby shower. For each, you get to see her invitations, party decorations, menu, and party favors. She provides some excellent case studies to illustrate all of her party hostess tips and tricks.

The organized party plan laid out in this book is fool proof and really takes the stress out of hosting parties. Since reading the book, even the holidays are less stressful at my house. I can enjoy my Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking like never before because I now know the best way to organize my shopping list, lay out and label my serving pieces ahead of time, and schedule when to cook various dishes to maximize my time and minimize my workload.

In addition to being a fun read, The Art and Craft of Entertaining would make a wonderful gift for a new bride or first-time homeowner.



What are your favorite party books, blogs, or websites? I'm always on the lookout for great inspiration, so please leave a comment to share your faves.



The Belly Feathers Party Blog has moved! Visit the new location at BellyFeathersParty.blogspot.com for more handmade party ideas.

Executing a Handmade Party Theme with Only Three Elements

If you want to host an all handmade party for which none of the items are from a mass-market theme, you can pull it off easily with only three handmade elements.

I'll illustrate exactly what I mean by telling you about a baby shower I helped throw for my friend, Brandi. Her nursery theme focused on the ocean - mermaids, bubbles, and undersea creatures - in a magical palette of sea-green teal, violet, and lime green. You couldn't ask for a more fun idea to work with, but at the same time, you can't exactly buy a baby mermaid shower kit at your local party-supply store. We wanted guests to know the nursery theme, so they could purchase gifts accordingly for the mommy-to-be. Therefore, everything had to be custom made, which I loved as a craftier. To carry out the theme, I focused on three carefully coordinated items - the invitation, the party game, and the favor.

1. The Invitation
   The invitation is the first party impression your guests will receive. Let your custom invitation introduce them to the party theme and explain what they can expect once they get there. If they need to bring anything out of the ordinary or dress a certain way for the party, be sure to note it. Most importantly, the invitation's function is to get your guests excited about attending. I think a unique handcrafted invite is sure to get them pumped and ready to RSVP, "Yes!"
   
   
   The invitation above shows a sparkly tailed baby mermaid inside a bubble with the message, "A Little Mermaid is on Her Way." This tells the guests that the party is for a little girl and that it's ocean themed. The waves of the scalloped vellum echo this sea theme. When you pull up on the ribbons, you realize that those aren't really ribbons at all but instead a spray from a smiley whale's blow hole. This little surprise is a fun way to engage the recipients and reinforce the sea-creature theme. All of the party information is conveniently printed below the whale.
   
   
   
2. The Party Game or Activity
   Once guests arrive you need to have a way to demonstrate the handmade party theme in action. You can go as elaborate or as simple as you want with this. For a wine tasting, you might make wine tags around the bottles that have an image used on the invitation. For a little girl's tea party, you would of course have teapots and cups. Both of these examples would reinforce the party's theme.
   
   For this baby shower, we went really simple. We played baby bingo, where guests write down one baby item in each square of a bingo card that they think the mommy-to-be will receive at the shower. As gifts are opened, you can "X" out any gift that you got correctly until someone calls out, "Bingo!" We made the game tie in with the theme by placing a little whale in the center wild card square of the bingo cards. Even something as simple as this, reinforces the party's theme and shows you really thought everything out.
   
   
3. The Party Favor
   I, personally, cannot have a party without giving out a small favor. This small token is a way to let your guests know how much you appreciate their attendance and provides a great way to close out the party theme. A handmade party favor is an especially wonderful treat to receive, too.
   
   Something bubble related seemed ideal for this baby shower. I found little bubble-shaped bottles at a craft store and filled them with inexpensive bubble bath in coordinating party colors. To dress them up, I tied on some ribbon to match the invitation and a sparkly baby mermaid tag that said "Bubble Bath" to make sure the guests knew what they were getting. Viola! An adorable handcrafted party favor that fit with the shower's theme and was inexpensive to create.
   

As long as you tie in your handmade party's theme on these three elements - the invitation, the party game/activity, and the party favor, you will succeed in throwing a super fun and memorable event. If you have time and energy to create more tie-in pieces for the party, by all means, go for it! Simply use these three elements as your party base. Happy party planning!



The Belly Feathers Party Blog has moved! Visit the new location at BellyFeathersParty.blogspot.com for more handmade party ideas.

One Handmade Party Touch Does the Trick

Handmade items can really make parties special. It shows you put a little extra thought into the event - even if you don't make the item(s) yourself, and that goes a long way towards showing your guests how much you care. But don't feel like you have to go overboard. One handmade party touch might be all you need.

I'm a big fan of mixing in a little handmade with a themed party products that you can get at Target, Party City, Hobby Lobby, and countless online party vendors.

For example, take this invitation. My friend Jessica fell in love with a themed party set she found online called The Big One for her son's first birthday party. It is precious in greens and blues with little bears in party outfits. She got the plates, napkins, banner, decorations, you name it to really carry out the theme at the party. She even had a cupcake cake made in the shape of a large number 1...too cute! The only handmade touch was this invitation I was able to create for her. We wanted something fun and playful, and you wouldn't believe how excited her guests were to receive it in the mail. I'd like to think it boosted attendance *just kidding*. It certainly didn't hurt, though.

My point is this - one homemade touch can be all you need to let your guests or guest(s) of honor know how special a particular event is. It shows that you put in a lot of thought and planning, and you'll be envied by all as a super hostess!




The Belly Feathers Party Blog has moved! Visit the new location at BellyFeathersParty.blogspot.com for more handmade party ideas.