Easy Holiday Entertaining

Happy (almost) New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and you have fun New Year’s plans for this weekend! We’ll be celebrating New Year’s Eve with a few friends at our house. While it’s not a huge affair, I still feel like I need to go all out A) because it’s New Year’s and B) because I have to keep up my hostess with the mostess status. But I don’t want to get crazy with the budget, especially since it’s a smaller gathering. As hard as it seems, it is possible to do easy holiday entertaining on a budget! After hosting several planned (and totally unplanned) gatherings at our house I’ve gathered a few tips. 

DIY Your Decorations

DIY-ing can get expensive if you’re not careful. I try to stick to useful decor like plates, cute cocktail napkins, drink stirrers, and things like that. You don’t need 50 feet of streamers and 20 decorations. As long as you have food and drinks, your guests will be happy. Which brings me to…

Keep Snacks Simple

I’ve gotten to the point where I know that during a party, people don’t want to sit down and eat a full meal. And they don’t need a ton of snacks, either. I have a few go-to’s when we have people over, including chips and salsa/guac (homemade if I have time!) and these sandwiches. This weekend, I’m going to test out a champagne cupcake recipe for a festive touch!

Drink Up

We try to keep mixers and limes in the house at all times, so that if we host an impromptu gathering we’re prepared and don’t have to run to the store or only give guests one option. For larger parties, we’re lucky enough to have considerate friends who always offer to bring things! Make sure you have the necessary things like soda, limes, ice, and one or two juices/sparkling waters to give guests a few choices. You’ll be glad you have everything already on hand!

You don’t need to throw a Pinterest-worthy fete for 5 people. You can pull off easy holiday entertaining without breaking the bank, as long as you break out your DIY skills. If your friends are anything like mine, they won’t care, they’ll just be happy to hang out and have a few drinks!