8 Excellent Ways to Host a Memorable Christmas Party

Hosting a Christmas party can be fun and exciting. Make your party a memorable one by doing these simple ways: set a date; set a budget and figure out the number of guests; send out invitations; plan your menu; decorate your party venue; choose your party utensils; prepare some music; and, take a lot of beautiful photos.

They say hosting a party is a tough job. But, it shouldn't be. It should make you find it as an enjoyable task. Proper planning is the key to that. Asking help from your friends and family members will make it easier for you too. Here some ways you might want to follow to make your planning and actual party a really memorable and perfect one:

Set a date

You have the weekends and some holidays in December to host a party. Yet, it is helpful to set the date and send invitations as early as November. For sure, your guests might be having other parties at this time of the year. So, you need to plan and inform them ahead of time to prevent any conflicts with your guests' schedules.

Set a budget and figure out the number of guests

Make a decision on the amount of money you can afford to spend for your party. A small budget is not a problem. It is a matter of setting priorities and allocating your funds properly. You can have the party at your place or perhaps look for a restaurant that provides for a function room to accommodate your guests. Choose the one that costs you less. The number of guests to be invited is one important factor in determining your party budget.

Send out invitations

Sending out invitation cards should be done at least three weeks before the party. You can buy invitation cards online or buy them from your nearest store. You also have an option of making your own invitation cards to add some personal touch. Just make sure to use a Christmas stationery to match with the theme of the party. Choose an envelope that complements with the design of the stationery too. It is important to include in your invitation the basic details such as the date, time, and venue of the party. Indicate also your name being the host of the party. Don't forget to mention the type of party too. Whether it's a dinner buffet party, a cocktail party, or whatever you have in mind.

Plan your menu

Planning a menu is very essential in hosting a party. If you wish to have your party at your place, then choose an array of food that will be easy for you to prepare. Choose those that are easy for you to handle and to serve as well. Appetizers and desserts should compromise a wide selection for everyone to fully enjoy. Beverage of different sorts can be really enticing for everyone especially for kids. If you happen to include kids in your party invitation, then have some milk and fruit juices.

Decorate your party venue

You can decorate your party venue by using less expensive Christmas decors and lights. A Christmas tree should be one of the highlights of your party decorations. Your food table, of course, should also have the best decorations. You can have some table napkins with Christmas design prints. A table cloth accented with festive holiday prints will surely add beauty to your table.

Choose your party utensils

You can use disposable spoons, forks, plates, cups instead of the breakables. Just make sure that you choose the ones that are durable. In fact, there are several disposable utensils with Christmas designs and prints too. They will definitely add some charm to your theme.

Prepare some music

To create a joyful atmosphere and to keep the Christmas spirit in the air, you can play Christmas music in the background while everyone is having their fill of your sumptuous food.

Take a lot of beautiful photos

Make sure to capture every beautiful moment of your party. You can personally take photos or maybe ask someone to take the pictures while you entertain your guests. You can even send a photo to every guest along with your 'thank you' card.

Best of Gluten-Free Awards

Triumph Dining is launching the first-annual Best of Gluten-Free Awards to select the best gluten-free products on the market and to thank the companies that provide them. And they would like you to pick the winners.

The Best of Gluten-Free Awards are designed to select the best gluten-free products on the market and to thank the companies that provide them. This is your opportunity to reward the brands and products you love by acknowledging how much easier and better they’ve made your life. The Best of Gluten-Free Awards will be chosen by popular vote within the gluten-free community, so click here to get voting.

After the survey, you will be able to sign up for their newsletter and claim a FREE 5-pack of American Dining Cards – they are only giving out 2,000 packs (and shipping them to US addresses only). The Best of Gluten-Free Awards will consist of 42 different award categories like “Best Gluten-Free Bread” and “Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.” Winners will be announced in early 2011.

Triumph Dining carries Gluten-Free Dining Cards, Gluten-Free Restaurant Guides and Gluten-Free Grocery Guides.

Udi's $1 Off Coupon

Udi's Gluten-Free Bread is my favorite bread. You can get a $1 off coupon to use on any of Udi's gluten-free products at your local store. Just click on this link to get your coupon.

Udi's Gluten-Free carries Whole Grain Bread, White Bread, Granola, Bagels, Pizza Crust, and Muffins.

Win Udi's Gluten-Free Bread for a Year on Udi's Facebook.

Food and Health Carnival Nov. 25

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you have a great day.

Every Thursday I will have this Food and Health Carnival on my website.

Do you have a Favorite Recipe, a Great Tip, a Great Resource or a Giveaway? Do you have a Giveaway Linky on your blog? Or maybe you would just like to share your Food or Health Blog/Website.

Link it here to my Food and Health Carnival. Also if you have a favorite Gluten-Free Recipe that you would like to share, link it to my Gluten-Free Recipes page located at the top of my blog.

All I ask for in return is to add my new blog button above to your blog and/or a link to my website. Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living.
This week I will share with you: How To Eat Healthy and Gluten-Free

Be sure and check out my current giveaways located on my right side bar. Have a great week.

$20 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Bestcovery is offering one of my reader's a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Bestcovery covers thousands of products and services, ranging from the Best Hotels to the Best Salsa. It is the fastest and easiest way to find the best of everything. They have made researching the best simple by de-cluttering the information you need and organizing it into concise, easy to understand recommendations. With this site you will no longer need to visit multiple sites that force you to sort through numerous pages of conflicting reviews, or be left to interpret and compare specifications on your own. They have done the research to recommend the best products and services for a variety of needs, uses and budgets to help you save time and money. One of the things that I like is that they will show you at what store to get the best price.

The Giveaway: One of my lucky winners will receive an $20 Amazon Gift Card from Bestcovery.

Manatory Entry: (1 entry)

Visit the Bestcovery website and then leave me a comment about a product or Best List that you like/dislike, with a link back to it.

Bonus Entries:
1) Buy a Gift Card on Amazon to send to your family and friends for Christmas (amazon carries a variety of gift cards). (10 entries)

2) Follow me on Google Friend Connect. (1 entry)

3) Subscribe to my RSS Feed or E-mail. (1 entry each)
4) Follow me on Twitter. (1 entry)
5) Tweet about this giveaway daily and/or post on your Facebook. (2 additional entries a day) You can use this for an example,
"#Win a $20 Amazon Gift Card @superglutenfree from @Bestcovery #giveaway http://goo.gl/fb/xtngv".
6) "Like" my blog on Facebook. (1 entry)
7) Blog about this giveaway and link to Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living and to Bestcovery. (3 entries)
8) Add my blog to your blog roll. (2 entries)
9) Add my button to the side bar of your blog. (3 entries)
10) Follow Bestcovery on Twitter. (1 entry)
11) "Like" Bestcovery on Facebook. (1 entry)
12) Check out my Squidoo Lens and/or create your own Squidoo Lens. (2 entries each)
Please leave me a comment while you are there as well leave me a comment on here telling me you checked out my Squidoo Lens.
13) Vote for my Blog on these Blog Directories by clicking on each of the following buttons. One additional entry per click. You can do this every 6 hours. Top Mommy Blogs can only be voted for once a day. Make sure to make a separate comment for each button you click on.





That gives you several entries for this giveaway. Enter as many of them as you want. Leave a comment for each entry.

This Giveaway is available for USA Only.

Giveaway goes through till December 8.

Giveaway Rules: All entries must be received by 11:59pm PST on December 8, 2010. A winner will be chosen by random.org. I will notify the winner by December 9, 2010 via email (please respond within 48 hours). I will also announce the winner on my blog. Leave a comment for each entry. Be sure and leave me your Twitter user name and Blog URL of your post. Leave me your e-mail address or make sure it is visible on your blog so that in the event that you win this giveaway I can contact you.

DISCLAIMER: I was not financially compensated for this post.

Nov. Upcoming Review from CSN Stores

I was contacted by a representative from CSN Stores. She asked if I would do a review a product from their store on my blog, and of course I said, Yes! You would not believe the merchandise that they carry. They carry a little bit of everything, from home decor to bread machines and more. Check out their counter stools.

Here is a one I like.

I decided to do a review on this kitchen scale. I have always wanted to try this one out.

In the meantime, check out CSN Stores, you can click on their website for a full list of categories they carry. Happy Shopping.

So check back with me in a few weeks for my review on Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living.

Food and Health Carnival Nov. 18

Every Thursday I will have this Food and Health Carnival on my website.

Do you have a Favorite Recipe, a Great Tip, a Great Resource or a Giveaway? Do you have a Giveaway Linky on your blog? Or maybe you would just like to share your Food or Health Blog/Website.

Link it here to my Food and Health Carnival. Also if you have a favorite Gluten-Free Recipe that you would like to share, link it to my Gluten-Free Recipes page located at the top of my blog.

All I ask for in return is to add my new blog button above to your blog and/or a link to my website. Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living.

This week I will share with you: Gluten-Free Flours and Binding Agents

Be sure and check out my current giveaways located on my right side bar. Have a great week.