Producing an Elegant Christmas Party on a Budget
It's easy to be a great host or hostess this holiday season and also keep your party within a tight budget. You just need to know the following key strategies that will help you magically turn a little money into a great party:
Tip #1: Make your own invitations
There are a huge number of free printable Christmas invitations that can be downloaded off the Internet. Just find invitation artwork you like, paste it into a Word document or other word processing program and run it through your printer. If you choose wisely, the results should rival similar paid versions.
Tip #2: Create your own decorations
There are many holiday decorations that can be made at home just using free clipart images available online. These can be printed on card stock; cut out with scissors, a craft knife or a paper cutter and put in various locations, including on the table as place cards and in flower arrangements. If you want a little fancier appearance, try using a little glitter glue to make them sparkle.
Tip #3: Serve food that makes an impression
While planning the menu for your party, look for free holiday recipes that aren't expensive to make and also provide that "wow" factor. A good example would be to serve dip in a bowl made of sourdough bread or purple cabbage, or filling puff pastry cups with pre-packaged cheese spread mixed with imitation crab and hot or any other filling of your choice.
Tip #4: Make sure there's music
Holiday music is soothing and is a terrific party mood-setter. Holiday CDs will work, of course, but if you have live music, you'll create an occasion your guests will never forget. But you don't have to have The Black-eyed Peas perform to have the entertainment be special. If you don't know of musicians who will work free just to get the exposure, inquire at a local university's music department. There may be some student musicians who will work for free or just a small fee.
There are undoubtedly other strategies you can come up with to stretch your entertaining dollars. Just be sure to keep your guests' ultimate experience in the forefront and don't let saving money make the party seem cheap. If you maintain a certain sense of class about the occasion, no one will even know the party was done on a shoestring.
