How to Prepare Your Home for Hosting
Hosting at your home is a great way to strengthen relationships, get to know your neighbors, or just have a bit more fun. The last two years have caused a lot of dramatic differences in the way people get together. So, if you feel safe to host and gather, it’s a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with people and fight back against feelings of isolation.
Whether you’ve never hosted before or it’s been a while, it doesn’t have to be stressful. By taking a few steps to properly prepare your home, you can truly be the “host with the most”, and enjoy inviting people for a good time.
So, what should you be doing to prepare your home for hosting? How can you create a clean and comfortable environment that will help your guests feel more at home?
Design the Ideal Gathering Place
No matter the size or layout of your home, your preparation goal should be to adjust the space for gathering and socializing. People want to feel comfortable and connected to others when they’re at a party or event. So, while having an open floor plan gives you a leg up, it’s okay if your home is more segmented. Try some of the following tips to create the ideal gathering places for conversing, eating, and more:
- Pay attention to lighting and colors to make rooms feel more connected
- Have a quiet area or two for people to have conversations
- Rearrange your furniture thoughtfully
- Adjust the temperature depending on how many people will be in one room
- Create space for personal belongings
Little things make a difference when it comes to people’s comfort levels. Everything from the food you serve to the playlist you have going in the background will have an impact on the overall “feel” of your gathering.
The best way to put these tips into practice is to plan ahead. Have a basic idea of what you want your party to look like. Plan things for people to do, places for them to sit and gather, and ideas to keep them entertained. The more preparation you do, the more you can relax the day of your party.
Know Your Guests
In addition to adjusting things around the home to make your space more inviting and comfortable, it’s important to consider who your guests will be and what their needs are. If you’re having families with young children over, or people with allergies, it’s important to crate your pets or put them somewhere where they won’t bother anyone.
If you’re inviting people with certain food allergies, make sure you prepare your dishes accordingly, or that a caterer knows those allergies ahead of time.
Think about the kind of vibe you want to give off at your gathering based on who your guests are. There’s a big difference between the kind of people who are happy with cocktail parties and those who would rather have fun at a backyard barbecue.
While no one is likely to complain about a specific “theme” or things you might not have included, knowing your guests for a gathering is like a marketing expert understanding their target audience – the more you know who they are and what they want, the more you can cater your planning to ensure they have a good time.
Consider Moving Things Outdoors
If you live in a smaller home, you’re hosting a large group, or you don’t want to have to worry about rearranging things, it’s hard to go wrong with an outdoor gathering.
Most people love spending time outside, and it can help to make everyone more relaxed almost immediately. Hosting an outdoor dinner party is a great way to get everyone gathered around one table and instill an atmosphere of comfort and conversation. Some helpful tips that can make your party an even bigger success include:
- Getting creative with lighting (globe lights are always a hit!)
- Using mismatched decor
- Utilizing decorations that accentuate natural features
Whether you’re having a sit-down gathering or more of a casual party feel, the most important things to keep in mind for hosting outdoors are checking the weather ahead of time and making sure people stay safe and dry. Get creative with your space and make sure you have some type of shelter in case it starts to rain. That could include a screened-in porch, an awning, or even a tent set up ahead of time.
It’s important to keep your food safe and covered as well. No one wants to dig into a tray of something when they see bees and other bugs swarming around it. They also don’t want to think about how long a dish that’s supposed to be hot has been sitting out and potentially falling to an unsafe temperature. Food is a crucial component to any successful get-together, so make sure you’re keeping it covered and protected, too!
When it comes down to it, having a get-together at your home should be fun. While planning and preparing are important, don’t let your preparations lead to extra stress. Keep these tips in mind to create the best possible environment for hosting at home, and don’t forget to enjoy yourself!