I really enjoy holiday entertaining. Do you? Many years ago we hosted a large Christmas party in our old house with over a hundred friends and family. Our 100-year-old English Tudor was ideal for entertaining: spacious rooms allowed guests to wander, mingle, and enjoy the evening.
We set up food in the dining room, drinks in the kitchen, and hors d’oeuvres in the living room. The baby grand player piano filled the house with Christmas music and created a festive atmosphere. With five bathrooms, guests never had to wait. That party remains one of my favorite holiday memories — it was the last Christmas we spent in that big house.
But here’s the thing:
We’ve hosted gatherings in many types of homes: an 800-square-foot condo when we were newly married (we hid the laundry in the closet so guests could use the single bathroom), a 1,200-square-foot English cottage, and a 2,200-square-foot house. Every setting produced warm memories, regardless of size or style.
Holiday entertaining for us has never been about showing off. It’s about creating a welcoming atmosphere where people feel comfortable and can enjoy each other’s company. Hosting is a kind of love language for me — I enjoy making a cozy, pleasant space for friends and family to gather.
Here are my seven must-haves for holiday entertaining:
- A reasonably clean home so guests feel comfortable, especially in the powder room and primary party areas.
- Candles to set the mood and a light, pleasant scent that isn’t overpowering.
- Soft, festive music to fill quiet moments and enhance the celebration.
- Seating options for guests, even if that means using floor cushions.
- Available surfaces for drinks and plates so guests can set things down easily.
- A few go-to conversation topics to smooth any awkward pauses.
- A manageable plan for preparing and serving food and drinks so I don’t feel stressed right before or during the event.
And if I could add a few extras to that list, I wouldn’t mind a new KitchenAid stand mixer, a quality hand mixer, a Pottery Barn gift card, or a pretty holiday apron from The Hip Hostess.
Because I appreciate my readers, my friend Sandy from the Reluctant Entertainer and I put together a Holiday Entertaining giveaway to help one lucky winner get ready for the season with useful prizes and a little pre-holiday shopping fun.
How to enter
To enter, leave a comment on each of our Holiday Entertaining posts. After commenting on both blogs, confirm your entry using the Rafflecopter widget by acknowledging that you commented on both posts. If you haven’t used Rafflecopter before, it’s simple: sign in and follow the steps in the widget.
If you’d like extra entries, options such as following our Pinterest board for Holiday Entertaining and Recipes, liking our Facebook pages, or tweeting about the giveaway are available in Rafflecopter. These additional actions increase your chances of winning.
Start your entry with Rafflecopter now.
Do you like to entertain around the holidays? What keeps you from enjoying entertaining, if you don’t like it?
Note: You only need to confirm entry details in Rafflecopter once on either blog. All entries are collected through Rafflecopter regardless of which site you use, but you must leave a comment on both blogs to qualify. This giveaway is open to entrants with a U.S. mailing address.
Good luck! The giveaway closes Sunday at 12:01 AM and the winner will be announced on both blogs by Tuesday.
Special thanks to KitchenAid and The Hip Hostess for providing prizes for this giveaway.