Five Essentials for a Holiday Party
You don’t have to blow the bank to throw a spectacular holiday party, but you do need to do a little planning and preparation. Make sure you’ve got the following five tips covered for your bash and you can spread the holiday cheer and have fun at your own fete. –Erika Lenkert

DECOR
A festive look is essential to any seasonal party. Sure, you can go all out and deck the halls, but you can also implement a few last-minute tricks sure to dazzle: Start by grouping a pile of holiday ornaments in a bowl or serving tray, then insert an odd number of pillar candles, and you have an easy centerpiece. Need some greenery? Trim those low-hanging rogue branches from your tree and spread them across the buffet table or mantle, add some chestnuts, walnuts, or even bowls of cranberries with candles safely nestled in them and you’re good to go. And don’t forget the mistletoe. It’s an instant merrymaker.

DRINKS
A party is not a party without festive drinks. To save money and effort, decide on a signature cocktail for the night, calculate the number of guests you expect, and anticipate each guest will imbibe three drinks over a two-hour party (and one more per hour after that). Create a self-serve bar, make sure it’s well stocked and includes extra glassware, about two glasses per person, and offer a fun garnish such as gumdrop or cranberry skewers. Make drinks in advance, replenish throughout the evening, and be sure to have water and other nonalcoholic options.

Just Dance

Break the ice and set the mood with awesome activities and music. Pump up the volume and get people dancing with Ubisoft’s Just Dance, a music and rhythm video game for Nintendo Wii. It teaches you the choreography for more than 30 popular dance songs. You and your guests will have a blast learning seriously cool new moves. And as a bonus, you’ll burn some of those extra holiday calories.

FOOD
Even if you’re having a “cocktail party” you must include finger food, lest you want guests to get loopy, leave early, or both. Snack foods don’t have to be fancy, though they certainly can be. A suitable spread can range from store-bought stuff (a cheese selection, bread, crackers, fruit slices, chips, crudités, dips, nuts, bar mix, olives, or ever-popular sautéed sausage slices with mustard) or time-intensive and fancy (homemade blini with caviar, meatballs, canapés, mini sandwiches, demitasse cups of soup, individual tartlets, or whatever your heart—and stomach—desires). Just make sure you have more than enough on hand.

FRIENDS
There’s no point in having a fete if you don’t have fun yourself, so make sure you invite a lively, engaging, and diverse group of party people, and feel free to nix those from the guest list who are likely to bring down the vibe or make you feel self-conscious. It’s your party, so live it up with a dream-team guest list.