5 Genius Holiday Party Hacks

Via Harpers Bazaar

Do you want to start your own professional event planning business one day? If this has always been a dream of yours but you’re unsure how to get started, planning some parties for your families and friends can be a wonderful way to gain experience and grow your portfolio as you complete your event planning course.

As a student and aspiring professional, you should always have your future portfolio in mind, and be sure to take advantage of any opportunity to develop it. So very time you plan and execute an event of any kind, take plenty of pictures. From photos of menu choices to close-ups of décor, keep in mind that this is your chance to show potential clients why you’re worth working with- down to every last fabulous detail. So make sure these pictures are well-lit and clear.

Just in time for the holiday season, we came up with a list of our absolute favorite holiday party planning hacks for 2017 to help give you some festive inspiration. Here’s what we found:

Via Hawthorne and Main

This is an adorable, decorative buffet option for this year’s wintertime event of any kind. In the beautiful set-up pictured here, the planner went with some large, clear containers to hold all the drink accompaniments. We especially liked her choice of see-through bowls for this arrangement, simply because the toppings sort of look festive themselves, so it’s nice to keep them on display. As far as toppings go, she went with classic favorites such as candy canes and marshmallows, but you can get as creative as you’d like with yours.

It’s also worth noting that DIY menu choices are always an effective party planners’ pick because they give guests something to do. The key to a great party is to keeps the guests active as much as possible. So having them get up, experiment with these toppings and share their creations with one another adds an element of activity to the function unmatched by simply serving something premade- always a plus.

Via Taste of Home

This is a really simple DIY dessert option that we chose specifically for the event planner on a budget. Not only are all the ingredients super inexpensive and easy to find, it looks impressive and Instagram-worthy all the same.

Essentially, all you’ll need to do is make classic chocolate covered pretzels, simply using white melting chocolate chips dyed green, then arranged in a circle to look like a wintry wreath. Decorations are entirely up to you- this decorator used red and green sprinkles and a big red bow, but you can use any type of holiday candy you want for yours.

via Living Locurto

We absolutely loved this inventive, jumbo-sized holiday light craft from the Living Locurto blog, and it’s sure to be a hit among guests at your event this year too. Not only that, it’s incredibly easy to make, and all you’ll need is balloons, curly green ribbon and dark green disposable cups.

If you want to go the extra mile for the wow-effect, you can actually head to Amazon or Walmart to find balloons that will literally glow- but as long as your event is taking place in a well-lit venue, regular balloons will look just fine too. Here’s a full tutorial on how to make this awesomely original craft.

via Mon Cheri Brides

This drink was our 2017 pick for your holiday-themed signature cocktail. The presentation here looks absolutely incredible- festive, joyful and elegant all rolled into one. To make this wintry refresher, start by combining blackberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. You’ll want to bring that to a boil (on high heat), then quickly reduce it to a slow simmer and let it heat for about 12 minutes. This will help those blackberries become nice and soft, and it’ll bring out a really beautiful, extra-deep color in them too. After those 12 minutes, you’ll be left with what should look like a purple-ish colored sugary syrup. Take it off the stove and remove the blackberries (but hold onto them for later) so you’re left with the syrup alone. Once cooled, simply spoon some syrup into a glass flute (these were rimmed with a beautiful, sparkling gold sugar) and top with champagne. Garnish with those blackberries from warlier and a sprig of rosemary, and you’re ready to impress those guests!

via Tip Buzz

The last hack on our list is only for the adults at your party-this awesome Jello shot looks incredible, and is sure to be a crowd pleaser amongst your partygoers. Here’s the full recipe tutorial on what ingredients you’ll need to buy and how these are properly layered and prepared.

The recipe is really fun to make, but be aware that it takes some time- so definitely allow a few hours of time for those layers to properly set. This probably shouldn’t be one of the party-prep items you leave for the day-of.