7 Steps to Prepare Your Home for a Party

Being a party host is a huge responsibility, whether your event is an intimate reunion with friends or your child’s first birthday celebration. You should be mindful of how your place looks and anticipate every contingency to ensure everything goes smoothly. Although every party presents unique challenges, following these seven steps will help you prepare your home, no matter how modest or ambitious your idea may be.

1. Hide Eyesores

Skip this step if your space is intact and ready for the world. However, if you have a few areas that need fixing that you can’t repair in time, use your creativity to conceal them.

Throw your party indoors if your roof has seen better days. If your living spaces can’t accommodate your expected headcount, set the social zones outdoors, but schedule the event in the late afternoon or early evening. Less sunlight makes colours darker and greyer, helping you conveniently de-emphasise your house’s less-than-pretty side and draw attention toward the spots you’re proud of with artificial lighting.

Do you have worn-out wood furniture? Colouring its problem areas with wood repair markers can disguise the scuffs and instantly make it look flawless.

There’s a quick-fix solution for every unsightly home feature. Use your imagination and discover what products are available to obscure eyesores cleverly during the party.

2. Declutter Spaces You Need

While cleaning should go without saying, minimising messes at home prevents many party planning problems. Decluttering frees up more space, allowing you to seat more people and widen the walkways for free-flowing traffic.

Clutter can be a tripping hazard. Children’s toys, electrical cords, pet bowls, and other things lying on the floor and stairs can cause accidents. People stepping or walking on loose mats or rugs can spill drinks or slip and fall.

Decluttering can be exhausting, so you should delegate less urgent tasks to others, but this task feels easier when done room by room. Prioritise the spaces you expect guests to use or see. If pressed for time, gather all clutter and store it in a location where people won’t go to make your home less visually stimulating and more relaxing.

Aside from the living room, pay extra attention to your downstairs toilet. Providing your attendees with a spotless and fragrant space to freshen up will leave a lasting positive impression.

3. Think About a Theme

Figure out how to keep your visitors preoccupied. Conversations are engaging until you run out of interesting topics to discuss. The last thing you want to do is compel them to watch YouTube videos or scroll through their Instagram feeds individually out of boredom.

Decide on a theme unless you’ll be hosting members of your inner circle who can talk about everything without losing interest in each other. A theme clarifies and communicates what kind of entertainment you’ll provide to your attendees. You can even throw something more simple like a dinner or viewing party.

With a dinner party, the main activity is apparent — food tasting. Serving your guests home-cooked dishes and fancy wines makes your event intriguing and exciting, promising a memorable experience.

With a viewing party, everyone knows beforehand they’ll relax while watching a football game, movie, stand-up comedy special or TV series. They feel less pressure to talk and share about themselves the whole event. A karaoke night is also a great idea — everybody can sing their hearts out and have a blast.