The most important thing is you
Watch my appearance on Good Morning Washington with host Eileen Whelan here.
My husband Jason and I have thrown a Christmas party for the past 17 years. Pre-covid, the party grew to more than 100 guests in our 15 x 30’ Washington, DC row house. In those years I would spend 8 hours Tuesday preparing the shopping list, 8 hours Wednesday shopping, and 12-14 hours Thursday through Saturday cooking with 3-4 people joining me in the kitchen each day to shape hundreds of small bites.
The menu has been a collection of hors d’oeuvres with multiple components and garnishes. We’ve corralled and washed glass drinkware, serving platters and even set up a second kitchen on the back deck. We cleared the first floor of our home of most of the furniture and moved the bar to the basement to spread out our guests.
But despite the planning, logistics and managing a team of volunteers, I’ve learned one thing about parties that is more important than the food, decorations or the guests. That’s you.
You are the one who greets guests at the door with a smile, you connect people for great conversations and clean up the little spills and kitchen disasters with a quiet and calm smile. So take care of you. Plan a party that is manageable. Make sure you have plenty of time to take a hot shower, do your hair and put on that fabulous outfit before your guests arrive. Even better if you have 20 minutes to sit and enjoy the decorations and a bit of quiet. And then? It’s showtime!
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