Party Ideas for Your Family: Create a Loving Atmosphere That Follows Guests Home

Entertaining is an art form that is all but lost for those of us who weren't born with a "Martha Stewart gene". We struggle for ways to create an atmosphere of conviviality without turning out a cookie cutter evening. Most ideas for festive evenings lack the components that go beyond the moment.

Instilling a sense of love and concern for people you embrace in celebration, strengthens those bonds strained by the rush of daily life and tales of hardship in the evening news. Plan for a richer and more nurturing experience.

Simplicity

How many times have we spent hours preparing food, finding the perfect dinnerware, polishing the silver, and fretting the whole time about the presentation of the meal? I suggest using very basic recipes that are easy but have an international flare. Choose main dishes that are intended for large families, from countries located in the same climate zones or have common or interlaced histories. One of my favorite combinations would be several types of noodles and sauces based on Italian family recipes with side dishes, salads, and appetizers from Greece.

The Meal

Creating traffic flow gives guests an opportunity to speak casually with new acquaintances while focused on a common goal. With this presentation you can be more creative with serving dishes and decor while creating a family like atmosphere. place a buffet area in the living room and have each guest take a dish from the kitchen and place it where they feel it will fit best. Provide a little structure with cards indicating the general areas for salads, soups, and main courses. This encourages everyone to leave the kitchen, where most parties end up most of the time!

The Memory Makers

Here is where you spend the bulk of your precious planning energy. You don't have to approach it with the same focus as you would a formal dinner party, but you will need to consider the interests of your guests during this phase. These ideas are sure to inspire.

1) Hire a "fortune teller" as part of the evening's entertainment so people can have a tarot reading about 2007.Light readings can be fun and create an air of mysticism. Burn scented candles to create just the right atmosphere. Jasmine and Lavender are excellent!

2) If guests will eat dinner at a central table, have everyone stand in a circle around the table and join hands. Have each person tell their favorite or funniest moment from the last 30 days. The insights into humor and sentiment are interesting .

3) Give each guest each a small basket with comfort items, like lotions, creams, candles, and chocolates or sweets. Write a date on tags attached to each item. The recipient is to use each item on its day. has something interesting to look forward to each date listed. It is your way of showing you care for them regardless of their location.

4) If your guests are good with gardening, give each one a little bag of seeds to be planted in spring. It is a great way to encourage activity, and seeds are easier than bulbs for many. Perennials are nice because they will come back year after year. If this gathering turns into a tradition, the garden will expand with each year.

5) Give each guest a small book of with a new recipes to try. Create this using inexpensive binders, one for each guest. For the first day of each month provide a page that has the directions for an exotic dish. Guests try each recipe the first day of each of the next 12 months.

7) Purchase small blank books at your local crafts store. At the tops of the pages, write the name of a month and a word, like "silence" or "abundance" and leave two blank pages between each word. The recipient is to write their thoughts on what that word means for them during the month the word is associated with.

8) Create a Pomander for each guest. Get oranges and cloves. Push a crochet hook or knitting needle through the orange so that yarn or ribbon can be threaded through the hole for hanging purposes. Puncture the skins of the oranges in a random fashion, insert the cloves into the premade holes. Then roll the oranges in spices like sugar and cinnamon.

9) Give each guest a potpourri mixture. with 1/2 oz of fragrance oil. Include instructions on how to use the oil to create a lasting scent in the potpourri. If you can manage essential oils, the potpourri mix will have a richer aroma once the directions have been followed and it is strategically placed for optimum scent throw.

10) Give each guest an inexpensive pedometer so that they can keep track of how many steps they take each day, along with a small scroll with information on the benefits walking. Give it AFTER dessert!!!

Try using these suggestions as inspiration for your own variations. There is so much strife in our daily lives that the need to feel cared for is greater then many of us would like to admit. Let celebrations create a loving atmosphere that will follow your carefully chosen family beyond the threshold of your front door.