Holiday Prep Week:
This is the perfect week to take advantage of the nice Fall weather to finish up some Fall house cleaning to prepare for the fun filled months ahead and all of the Holiday events you want to host and enjoy.
Determine what events you would like to host throughout the holiday season. Maybe you would like to have a Harvest Party because you love Fall, or this year you would like to host Thanksgiving Dinner, how about a Christmas Tea and gift making or collecting event for an organization.
Once you decide what type of event/events you would like to host make lists of ALL of the supplies you will need including food prep, serving ware, guest tokens, table decorations, etc. By focusing and pre-planning you could host a wonderful event like you have always dreamed of.
Do not be afraid to consider a "pot-luck" type event. When I host a holiday tea, I ask the guests to bring their favorite tea and cookies or finger food. I have asked guests to bring their own teapots and cups and as part of our "entertainment" everyone told the story behind the item they brought with.
Other "event" ideas have included a Fall Kick-Off Chili party where everyone included a secret ingredient in their chili and we guessed what they were. The person that guessed the most received a "Best Taste Buds" Certificate.
An annual event is filling "Operation Christmas Child" shoe boxes for Franklin Graham's ministry. Instead of everyone bringing a filled box to contribute, we all purchase items to fill the boxes and come to the party with pre-wrapped empty shoe boxes. All of the items that have been pre-purchased are put out on tables and everyone "shops" for the items to fill the shoe box they have brought. Children and adults love this event. An additional aspect of this event is our food for the evening. Because rice is a staple of so many countries, each family chooses a country to bring a typical meal a family would eat with rice as an ingredient. This helps us to understand and have a better vision of who we are packing those shoe boxes for.
When planning a Holiday dinner at your home plan some specific activities that every age group will enjoy. Some families make an event of watching "It's a Wonderful Life" together. Some other ideas are a craft the children can do while dinner is being prepared like making placemats or place cards or centerpieces for the table. Choose a game everyone can play together every year. We have a game that my grandkids call "The Pickle Jar Game." It is a large jar filled with cards that suggest everything from acting out a part of the Christmas Story, playing telephone around the room with a phrase, everyone singing a Christmas Carol together, etc. We all look forward to playing it together every year. On Thanksgiving our tradition is to head to the opening session of the season at the outdoor ice skating rink after dinner, then return home for dessert.
We all want to make memories and hopefully these ideas will spur you to undertake some"events" of your own this year. With just a little planning, you really can make it happen. Be creative, thinking outside the box. Everyone will enjoy someone stepping up to host the event.
I would love to hear some ideas of holiday events you have hosted or been a part of.
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