Now the Party’s over

To quote the diary of the immortal Donna from Mama Mia! the movie,” Wow, what a night…”

My Christmas in July party was everything that I hoped it would be; full of warmth and laughter. New friendships were forged and existing ones strengthened. My motto of warm, welcomed and relaxed was a good choice; I got the sense that the evening was all of these, not only for my guests, but for me and my family too.

*Even the decorations got into the spirit of the evening and caught up with friends for a chat*

Looking around the room I could see people talking and laughing together. For a few hours all of our cares, (for don’t we all have them?) seemed to recede into the background and forgotten for a few hours, and I can’t think of a better gift to give than that.

I asked my guests to bring a plate of food that meant “Christmas” to them and their family. They were generous in their offerings; all delicious and different. So much so that we didn’t need the food that I had prepared as a main course.

*So many delicious cheeses and dips .Just think how strong our bones are now after eating all of that.*

In a word, I overcatered.

Spectacularly.

In truly monumental proportions.

However, the silver lining was that I had all of the meals for the following week prepared during a party for 30 people, a feat which I call a multi-tasking win. The ham, lamb and turkey were put out on the buffet, but only picked at, and I immediately deemed the roast vegetables unnecessary and they were put into the fridge straight away. As a result, we have had a lovely week eating slow-cooked lamb shoulder, turkey breast and glazed ham with veggies for dinner each night.

Truly though, the food and drink was secondary to the major triumph of the night; me being brave enough to put the invitation out to my friends and family in the first place.

It is the first time that I have assembled so many of my friends together in many years. I think the last time I celebrated a milestone birthday, rather than just observing it in horror and disbelief.

*Everyone brought a plate of food that meant “Christmas” to them and their family. These traditional Greek biscuits were irresistable.*

But, above all, this night was about giving myself permission to gather my people again.

The decorations, the food, the styling were all ways that I wanted to embrace my motto. I wanted my home to feel relaxed, welcoming and cosy. After all, it was cold out, and people had given up a quiet Saturday night in their comfy clothes in front of their favourite streaming service to come and spend it at The Willows. I am so glad they did, and judging from their comments, they are glad they did too.

By putting this invitation out there, by choosing a theme, and a motto, I rediscovered something that had been missing for quite a while. My community. Of course I see them all regularly, but never en masse, and I have been missing out. I let a particular door in need of a lick of paint become a barrier to having people in my home. If anyone noticed that door, they were polite enough to not mention it to me, but honestly, I am sure nobody took the slightest bit of attention to it.

Takeaway for hosts: no-one is coming to inspect your skirting boards, so don’t let an unfinished project or an unpainted door stand between you and your community.

I hope my party makes the case for inviting people in. I am glad I took the chance and did it. It was a reminder that I am surrounded by warm, loving people, and many of whom had not met each other before. It was a delight to see everyone talking and laughing together. I am already planning the next get-together; nowhere near as large or as elaborate as this was, but the sheer joy that I got from the planning and production of the night, and the enjoyment that my guests derived let me know that I can keep on this path of opening my house, and my calendar.

So now, after a few days of reflection I’ve had thoughts about what I would repeat, and what I would refine.

What I would do again

The theme.

As you know, I was a bit nervous about this, and how it would be received. I needn’t have been. People thought it a great idea and a few dressed up accordingly with elf hats and tinsel scarves.

Drink Stations

I set up two tables as drink stations and this allowed for people to refresh their drinks as needed. Having two areas available meant that there were no queues and people could move back into conversations quickly.

Next time I might add a third small table too, again, to keep conversations flowing.

Decorations

The decorations leaned towards winter rather than Christmas and that worked well. I wanted a subtle acknowledgement of the theme.

I found a video of an open fire on YouTube and had that playing on the TV to add to the atmosphere of the evening. It felt even cosier having that on in the background.

My daughter set up a small table on the front verandah with candles, a garland of pine leaves, and pine cones. This received a lot of positive comments as it set the mood right from the moment of arrival.

Shared plates

Asking people to bring food to share meant there was a variety of choices.

What I would change

Catering

I will not worry about providing a ‘main course’. People were more than happy with cheese (and who wouldn’t be) and charcuterie.

Taking more photos

I didn’t take the time to take many photos. I have a few, but not as many as I would like.

Getting out of the kitchen

Our kitchen and living area are open-plan, so I was able to interact with people all night, but I felt distracted by the preparing and cleaning up food and dishes.

Take-away containers

These were on my list to get, but I completely forgot. These would have been handy to parcel up take home party packs for my guests.

Final thoughts.

What’s the ‘unpainted door’ holding you back from inviting people over? Is it a messy spare room, a busy calendar, or just fear of over-complicating the menu?

I challenge you to send out just one invitation this week - even if it’s for just coffee or cheese and crackers.

Low-stress Host Checklist

Pick a low-pressure theme
Choose a motto to help guide your decisions about menu, drinks, decor and guests
Set up multiple drink stations - even for water
Delegate the food; ask guests to bring a plate of food to share
Set the mood at the front door; a wreath, a LED candle in a hurricane lamp
Ditch the main course (!)
Have a supply of takeaway containers on hand so that guests can take home some leftovers to enjoy.
Value presence over perfection
Take photos